A Whole New World
by Oxnate
Summary: YAHF - Challenge response. Xander goes as a character from Wormhole X-treme and gets more than he bargained for.
1. Chapter 1 & 2

A Whole New World

by Oxnate

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1. The title is from the Disney movie Aladdin. It seemed appropriate. I don't own that either.

Challenge response from tasuxeda. **Xander the symbiote and host. **

_Xander ends up a goa'uld or a tok'ra for Halloween and afterwards he is left as a symbiote and a host pair but they are both still Xander. _

_Xander must retain the memories of the host and symbiote however the memories of the host will fade like in canon but not the symbiote's memories and the memories of the symbiote must change the Xander symbiote so if the Xander symbiote was goa'uld he must act more like a goa'uld and same if a tok'ra how much a change is up to you. _

_The symbiote must end up crossing over with Stargate as a goa'uld, tok'ra, or may favorites an individual party or a member of a SG team or something else if you want but Xander the host doesn't have to be he can stay in Sunnydale if you want._

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><p>I've been trying to do a XanderSG1 Xover for a while now. Just couldn't get it going. Thanks to Tasuxeda for the inspiration. This story takes place starting in Season 2 of each series. Though, the time-lines are going to be off. I've never watched SG1 cover to cover so my idea of when stuff happens is likely off. Thank you to the Stargate Wiki for help.

The FFN version here was originally optimized for Text2Speech readers, but the amount of editing that has gone into this story and the amount of work it is to change that, mean that I couldn't do two versions any longer. My apologies to those that use such programs.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p> Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

Something was wrong here. The last thing he remembered, he was attacked by that Ashrak and trying desperately to save his host. That poor woman. Nothing had gone as planned with her. And he was clearly no longer in her body. He had no memory of being transferred to this host. Could he have taken yet another host without its permission? It was becoming a disturbing trend for one who called himself a Tok'ra. For now, there were more immediate considerations. He seemed to be surrounded by hostile aliens of some form or another. Even the small one that attacked him was exceptionally strong for its size. Nothing that Jolinar of Malkshur couldn't handle. But still, it was worrying. A full grown beast of this type would likely be a challenge. Especially in numbers. Jolinar was pulled from his thoughts by someone yelling at him.

"Xander!" red-headed woman yelled at him as she waved a hand in front of his face and snapped her fingers. "Earth to Xander!"

"Huh?" he replied in a human voice. So, he was still on Earth. But at least he was no longer a prisoner.

"Sheesh." the girl huffed. "You okay, Xander? You went kinda spacey on me there."

The host's name was Xander. Best to play along until he knew more. "Yes. Sorry. It's just..." He trailed off, letting his companion fill in her own blanks.

"I know." she said. "It's freaky. But we have to keep our heads. Besides, for the Hellmouth, this isn't a big deal. First things first though, let's get off the street." She went to take his hand, but it passed right through.

"Odd. Are you out of phase in some way?" Jolinar asked.

"What? I don't think so. I-I dressed as a ghost... and now I'm a ghost. You dressed as... what did you dress as?"

Jolinar was stumped. What could he possibly tell her that would satisfy her and not expose him to the SGC. He frantically started searching Samantha Carter's memories for a suitable explanation. Luckily the red-head had already moved on.

"We just have to find... Buffy!" She yelled the last word as she spotted this 'Buffy' and ran over to her. "Buffy. Are you ok?"

The reply was cut off when two monsters approached from the other side of the street.

"Buffy, what do we do?" the ghost asked.

The only answer was a _thump_ when the girl known as Buffy fainted.

Unarmed, Jolinar prepared himself for battle by rotating his shoulders and neck. He stretched them and tested his strength. A little eye-glow allowed him to see every detail, even in the dark; along with adding more of his strength to his host. At least this host felt strong, a warrior; he was certain of it. He placed himself in front of his companions. #"Arik tre'ac te kek."# (We do not surrender, even in death) He said in his deep voice and allowed his eyes to burn bright. The beasts apparently thought it was a good enough show and decided to retreat.

"Xander! That was great. How did you do that?" the red-head asked. A groan from Buffy distracted her.

"Uhh."

"Buffy, are you alright?" the ghost asked.

"Buffy?" Buffy asked.

"She's not Buffy." the red-head sounded disappointed.

Jolinar took Buffy's hand and helped her up.

"What year is it?" the spirit just wasn't giving up.

"1775, I believe. I-I don't understand. Who are you?"

"We're friends." the ghost answered. "I'm Willow and this is Xander."

_At last, Jolinar had the red-head's name._

"F-friends of whom? Y-your dress... Everything is strange! How did I come to be here?" The confused woman babbled.

"Breathe, okay, breathe. You're gonna faint again." Willow said. Then to Xander, "How are we supposed to get through this without the Slayer?"

Jolinar was confused and just shrugged. "I would suggest..." But he was cut off.

A monster came around the tree behind Buffy and roared, fangs bared and claws raised to attack. Buffy screamed and backed off. Jolinar jumped in and punched the monster out.

Jolinar turned back to the girls, "Like I was saying, I suggest we get inside before we come across anything..."

Buffy cut him off, "A DEMON! A DEMON!" she screamed, pointing at him.

A car came driving down the street behind Jolinar with its headlights on.

Willow turned to see the car. "That's not a demon. It's a car."

"It's eyes were glowing."

Jolinar froze. Unsure if Buffy was referring to him or the vehicle in the road. He wasn't sure if he had allowed his eyes to glow that time, but there was a good chance he had done it by accident. It happened a lot during stressful situations, and this certainly qualified. He would have to be more careful.

Willow saved him again by jumping in and explaining cars. "It's okay. It's a good demon. It wont hurt you as long as you don't get in its way. The glowy-eye thing is normal. Okay?"

Buffy wasn't looking at the car as it drove away though. She looked right at Jolinar. "Good demon." She said.

Jolinar nodded and repeated, "Good demon. I'll protect you."

"Great. Glad that's settled. Now let's get inside." Willow started off and motioned for the others to follow.

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><p>They got to the Summer's house and scared away the demon at the door. Willow went out and led Cordelia into the house when she ran by screaming. Jolinar met the hairy beast at the door and used his eye glow to scare if off, but only once he was sure that none of the women could see him. Cordy freaked a little bit when Willow left through the wall to get Giles, but calmed down again once Angel appeared. After all, it wouldn't do to let tall-dark-and-mysterious think that stuff like this freaked her out.<p>

"Oh, good! You guys are alright. It's total chaos out there."

Buffy looked as confused as Jolinar felt, though he let her say the words, "Who are you?"

"Okay, somebody wanna fill me in?" the new stranger asked.

"I'm not quite sure myself." Jolinar admitted. The new arrival was giving him the... wiggin's. He wasn't quite sure where that word came from either. Perhaps from his new host. He hadn't had the time to initiate a conversation with his new host yet. If the host was making itself known in spite of Jolinar's suppression, then this man would be a strong host indeed. Samantha Carter had been very strong mentally as well. He wondered if that was chance that he found two such strong hosts on this planet or if this planet created humans who were mentally stronger than the galactic average. He put aside such thoughts as the conversation was continuing without him.

"Buffy... What's up with your hair?" the new guy wondered.

Cordelia came back downstairs after hearing Angel's voice, "She doesn't know who she is, everyone's turned into a monster, it's a whole big thing. How are you?" she flashed a beatific smile at him.

The lights went out. Buffy grabbed Cordelia in fright.

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><p>"Well, alright, l-let's, let's, let's review. Um, so everybody became, uh, whatever they were masquerading as." Giles confirmed.<p>

Willow nodded, "Right. Buffy was an 18th-century girl and Xander was... I'm not quite sure. He seemed okay."

Giles scratched his nose, "A-and, uh, your, your costume?"

"I'm a ghost!"

Giles began stammering, "Yes. Um... w, uh, uh, uh, the ghost of what, exactly?"

Willow covered her midriff with her arms, "Well, this is nothing. You should see what Cordelia was wearing. A-a, a unitard with cat things, like ears and stuff."

Giles was shocked, "Good heavens. Uh, sh-sh-she became an actual feline?"

"No! She was the same old Cordelia. Just in a cat costume."

"She didn't change." Giles confirmed.

"No. Hold on... Partytown. She told us she got her outfit from Partytown." Willow deduced.

"A-a-and everyone who changed, they, they, they, they acquired their costumes where?"

"We all got ours at a new place. Ethan's" Willow admitted. "But so did Xander, and he didn't change."

"Perhaps. Still, I think it would be wise to check out this 'Ethan's' first."

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><p><em>That foolish woman. The entire party would likely have been safe back at the domicile if she had not run off. <em>Jolinar thought angrily. He threw another set of blows at the … strange man he was facing. Bad teeth and an eye patch. How odd. Also the Feline Person and the one known as Angel insisted that this was temporary and he couldn't kill his opponent. _This would be so much easier with a zat'nik'tel._ But he would have to do this the old fashioned way and hope he didn't kill the boy. Still, once he was done, he felt the first stirrings from his host. Feelings of pleasure and pride. Which confirmed that his host was very strong indeed. But that fact was unimportant for now as more monsters decided to attack.

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><p>"Hello Ethan."<p>

"Hello Ripper."

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><p>The fight in the warehouse was tough. Only two fighters against more than a dozen monsters. The warrior Angel made a good account of himself. He also seemed stronger than a normal human, but sheer numbers and the fact that they couldn't kill the smaller monsters eventually led to their capture.<p>

"Honey, I'm home." Buffy smacked the blonde vampire after she recovered herself. They fought but he eventually escaped. Most of the other monsters changed back when Buffy did as well. "You know what? It's good to be me."

"Hey, Buff. Welcome back." Xander said.

"Yeah! You, too." Buffy replied

"You guys remember what happened? Wait! You didn't change." Cordelia poked Xander.

"Oh yes I did," Xander insisted. "It was way creepy. It's like I was there, but I couldn't get out."

"What _did_ you go as?" Buffy asked. Xander mumbled something that no one else could hear. "What's Wormhole X-treme?" She asked.

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><p>AN: Quick explanation. In my world, Wormhole X-treme was a USAF special project meant to leak classified info in such a way that no one would take it seriously and also test what the public's reaction to knowledge of the Stargate program would be. WHX uniforms have no names and Xander went as the tall, dark haired member of the team without glasses. WHX didn't survive it's first season and was already off the air by Halloween. The spell transferred the personalities and memories of Captain Samantha Carter, the inspiration for the WHX character who no longer existed. The spell happened to coincide with Sam playing host to Jolinar of Malkshur and both were transferred just before Jolinar died.

Oh, and I realize that Jolinar mostly picks female hosts and her mate has a male host, but there will be NO slash in this fic.

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>Xander could not sleep that night. He doubted it was possible that anyone who had experienced what he had would be able to. Not only was Halloween a rather traumatic experience, but he now had three sets of memories running through his head and completely eliminating any chance for sleep. His own memories, he dealt with just fine. But Captain Samantha Carter and her symbiote Jolinar's memories were something else. Already he had filled two notebooks with ideas and computations dealing with theoretical physics. Worse, Jolinar's memories had shown him some places where Carter's were wrong. If that wasn't enough; he now knew that one of his favorite sci-fi shows, Wormhole X-treme, was real. Not the campy actors from the show. But real, life and death battles. Every episode was so good because it was real.<p>

Next on the creepy scale were the new skills he had. He knew he could fly a plane and several types of alien spacecraft. He could field strip and fire many weapons. Not only that, but he could probably make a few Goa'uld weapons from scratch. And worse, he knew what the Goa'uld, the Tok'ra and several other species of alien were and that they actually existed. As if demons and vampires weren't enough.

The real question was 'what now?'. First things first. He needed to find out if any of this was real. He snuck out of his house and headed for school. It was quite late and probably wasn't safe for him to be walking around Sunnydale alone in the dark. But in his current mood, Xander almost hoped something did try to jump him. He was kinda itching to test out Captain Carter's Level 3-Advanced CQC techniques on a vamp. Fortunately, or unfortunately, no one bothered him on the way to school. Breaking into school was far too easy the Carter memories told him. Could you feel disapproval from a memory? Xander certainly could. Jolinar at least was silent, which Xander was thankful for. He then made his way to the computer lab. Carter's computer skills were top notch. Probably even better than Willow's; _a fact that she was never going to find out_, he told himself.

Logging on he entered the address for Stargate Command and swallowed. He wasn't sure if he wanted this to be real or not. On one hand, he really had enough to deal with already, he didn't need this. Carter's memories showed him just how close they had come to being blown up very recently. And Jolinar's told him just how dangerous the Goa'uld really were and that they were incredibly lucky this last time. Part of him sincerely wished that these memories were just a spell and would fade. But on the other hand, after living in Sunnydale for so long – he would rather know what was out there than bury his head in the sand. He pressed enter.

"Welcome to StarGate Command. Home of the Air Force's Deep Space Telemetry Program." There were no other words or links on the page. Accessing Carter's memories, Xander inputted a key-code combination and boxes for username and password popped up. Entering the Captain's info, he logged in. _It's real. It's real. It's real._ Xander repeated to himself after the page popped up. There really wasn't anything he needed off the system. He just needed to know whether it was real or not before making his next move. The sky outside started brightening. It was almost morning. He shut down the computer and went to scavenge for breakfast.

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><p>Xander found an industrial sized can of peaches in the school kitchen and finished the whole thing off, and the juice, before heading to the library to read.<p>

"Xander! Did you sleep?" Giles asked as he entered the library to find the boy there. Giles wasn't surprised to find him here on a Saturday morning, he was more shocked to find him voluntarily reading. He surreptitiously checked to see if it was a comic book as Xander was known to hide them in larger tomes to make it seem like he was reading something more important. But not this time.

Xander smiled and was about to assure the Watcher that everything was fine but the lie died on his lips. "No." he sighed. "Long night."

"I see." Giles replied gently. "If I may ask, Willow was unsure of what you went as for Halloween."

"Are you familiar with the TV show 'Wormhole X-treme'?" Xander asked.

"No, I'm afraid I am not."

"I went as an alien from that TV show." Xander explained. "It was a good alien, an ally of Earth, but..."

"...But there are now thoughts of an entire lifetime lived as an alien?" Giles finished.

"Worse. Have you ever heard of Genetic Memory?" Xander asked. Giles' eyes narrowed, but he made no other move. "Well it turns out I have this alien's memories and his parents, and their parents back a long, long way."

"Dear god." Giles managed to whisper. "How far back?"

"The world is older than you know, and it wasn't always a paradise..." Xander began _the speech_. "A ways."

"But it's a television show. It's fictional. Right?" Giles finally got a grip on his thoughts.

"That's what we're telling everyone else." Xander informed him.

"But your friends..."

"Don't need any more on their plates right now." Xander cut him off, "There's nothing they can do anyway. The US military is handling it right now and they aren't going to be interested in working with a bunch of kids still in high school. And worse, I wouldn't want to trust certain people in the military with knowledge of the Slayer. They are looking for weapons to fight some very bad aliens and I don't want Buffy to end up as one of those weapons."

"So, what will you do then?" Giles wondered.

"I have knowledge they could use or at least knowledge of people who could help them. I'll see about sending this info to them soon. Otherwise, I think I'll just try to live and let live. They won't want help from a 17 year old kid and I don't want to end up a science experiment myself." Xander smiled. "So, how did you get this info, kid?" a passable imitation of Colonel O'Neill even if Giles didn't know it. "Magic?" he answered in a falsetto, then he took a deep breath and shook his head. "I don't see that ending well."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Xander looked up at the Watcher and thought for a moment. "Actually, there is one thing I could use some help with."

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><p>"As you were." Major General George Hammond intoned as he entered the briefing room. He sat down and handed out briefing folders. "At 0500 local time the public severs for the SGC were accessed from outside this complex."<p>

"Were they hacked?" Daniel asked.

"No, they used a username and password." the general answered.

"Isn't that what the website is for, Sir?" O'Neill then asked, sarcastically.

"Yes. But it was accessed using Captain Carter's username and password. And the login came from a place called Sunnydale California." The general explained.

"But Sam is still in the infirmary. I just saw her this morning." Daniel complained.

"Exactly. Someone in this town accessed our secure database using a username and password. If it were a simple hacking, I'd just let the FBI deal with it. But we have the second breach of someone having Captain Carter's login information. And that's something that we cannot allow."

"Was anything downloaded, changed, deleted?" Jack asked.

"As far as we can tell, no. But Captain Carter's access to the system is beyond even my own. She helped design the system, the website, and all the security. Theoretically, there should be nothing that someone from outside should be able to do. But they also shouldn't have her ID either." George stated. "Now there have been some unrelated minor hacking attempts that the FBI has traced back to Sunnydale as well. The high school specifically."

"The high school, sir? Kid's did this?" Jack was incredulous.

"Unknown at this time. The breach would have occurred at 0400 local time on a Saturday. It could just be someone taking advantage of poor security at the school to cover their tracks, but other hacks have happened from there when school would be in session. So we're not ruling anything out at this point. Due to the differing nature of the hacks, the FBI is sure that there are at least two different hackers in that town using two different MO's. This new one would make a third." The general paused and slid another folder to each of the three. "The three of you, along with SG-2 are going to Sunnydale to investigate this problem."

"The **three** of us, General Hammond?" Teal'c finally spoke.

"I've been pushing the President to authorize you to visit more of our planet for almost a year now, son. This was simply the first earth-side mission we could use as a reason for you leaving the base. Now, your existence and the existence of all alien life-forms is still classified. So, as long as you are away from this base, you will be known as 'Murray'. I hope you're okay with that."

Teal'c didn't say anything but did give a deep nod.

"Your folder contains all your cover documents. ID card, credit card, some money and other things. It also has a background for you as an immigrant to America. That cover story should help explain away any lack of knowledge you may have about our planet or country."

"Thank you General Hammond. I will not fail you." Teal'c intoned. There may have even been emotion edging into his voice.

"Just come back alive and bring your symbiote with you. To be honest, the idea of your symbiote escaping is what worries the president the most. A rogue Goa'uld loose on earth is quite literally his worst nightmare."

"It will not escape me, General Hammond. You have my word."

The general gave a small smile. "Good. Go get packed. Your plane leaves at 1620. You'll then take rental cars to Sunnydale. And Colonel?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll be driving back from Sunnydale once the mission is over. I don't want to hear about any car trouble on the way there, but you know how those rental cars are... Always getting themselves lost... _After_ the mission is over. Understood?" The general met the eye's of his 2IC with a twinkle.

The Colonel returned the twinkle, a smile, and a salute. "Yes Sir!" he barked.

"Captain Carter will be remaining here to assist us with the technical side of the problem once she feels up to it." he stood. "Dismissed."


	2. Chapter 3 & 4

Chapter 3

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><p><strong>Please review! <strong> Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>Giles was beginning to regret agreeing to help Xander. Xander had asked for help in evaluating his CQC or Close Quarters Combat skills he seemed to have acquired from Halloween. It seemed a rather unfair trade. The other memories that Xander had to play host to in exchange for some fighting moves seemed to be excessive. Still, the moves were there whenever Xander could get out of his own way and access them. As was clear from the fact that Giles was now laying on his back, staring up at the high ceiling of the Library. A hand entered his field of vision, he took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.<p>

"It's just not working." Xander said in frustration.

"I have to disagree." Giles retorted. His body was certainly voicing its disagreements loudly.

"I can't close my eyes in a real fight, Giles. I need to be able to access the CQC memories at will or I might as well just forget them." Xander replied.

Giles winced. The boy had beaten him with his eyes closed. Literally. "You simply need to practice, my boy. And you are going to have to find someone else to practice with I'm afraid. I'm too old to spar with someone of your caliber any more." Not if he wanted to be any use to his Slayer any way. "Perhaps you should train with Buffy instead?" he suggested. The girl could certainly use a more qualified punching bag.

Xander bowed his head at the thought. "No. I don't think I could hit a girl. Even a Slayer."

"Well, it's either her or Angel. They are the only ones I can think of that have the training and strength to go up against you right now." Giles reasoned.

Xander thought for a minute. "I could see myself beating up Angel." he smirked. "I'll ask him tonight. Thanks for your help Giles. Mind if I take this book with me?"

Giles looked at the book in his charge's hand. 'Mysteries of Ancient Egypt' by Dr. Daniel Jackson. Some interesting views on stories of demons residing in ancient Egypt. Fairly tame reading compared to some of his other books. Still, it was good that the boy was taking an interest in such things at last. And it wasn't an old, irreplaceable volume. "Yes. Yes you may. Just bring it back when you're done."

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><p>'Murray' was fascinated by everything, but especially the airport. Jack was pretty sure, anyway. It was always hard to tell with the big guy. They were sitting in the boarding area, waiting for their call to board. There were far more civilians than Teal'c had ever dealt with before. He was watching two kids run past their seats with a slight smile on his face.<p>

Murray turned to Jack, "Colonel O'Neill, I am very pleased to be taking this trip with you. It is good to see more of your w-"

"Bup, bup, bup." Jack raised a finger and finished for him, "Country." Several members of SG-2 smiled at the correction. Daniel was engrossed in a book and didn't hear the exchange.

"Yes. Your... country is quite interesting. Though very similar to my own. Families greet each other. Children play. It is good to see this again. I fear I have spent too much time on base. I have missed this more than I was aware." Murray sighed.

"And I am sorry about that." Jack apologized again. The treatment Teal'c had received since joining SG-1 hadn't been quite as good as he had hoped, or promised. He had had to settle for keeping the alien alive and undissected for now. "But, this should be just the first step in making things up to you. You just keep an eye on junior there for now and we'll see about making this a more regular occurrence." Jack assured him.

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><p>Xander had spent most of the morning reading Dr. Jackson's book at the park. Samantha Carter had never had time. He had lots of time and nothing much to do, which hadn't been a problem before Halloween. He could spend all day vegging at Willow's house while his friend did homework and occasionally joined him in vegging. But the book helped. Learning something new seemed to calm both the other... what was he going to call them? Memories? Spirits? Personalities?<p>

In the afternoon he decided to visit Buffy's house. The Slayer should probably be up by now and he might be able to get some lunch out of the deal. She wasn't there, but he did snag an apple before he left. He ate it while walking to meet both his girls over at Willow's house. It made sense to go to Willow's if they wanted to talk about Halloween. With Willow's parents gone again, they could talk openly.

He knocked before letting himself in. "Willow?"

"In here." came the reply from the kitchen.

Xander joined the girls already eating in the kitchen. "Ahh, lunch. One of the five most important meals of the day." he said before helping himself to the ingredients to PB&J sandwiches.

The girls just rolled their eyes while finishing their own sandwiches.

"So, what _did_ you go as Xander?" Buffy waited until after he had taken his first bite to ask.

Xander chewed slowly. It wasn't that he wasn't expecting the question. He had hoped that they would wait until after he was done eating first. He looked down to the other five sandwiches in front of him. He was feeling really hungry today and he didn't know why. And now he was done chewing. He swallowed and drained his glass of milk. "A soldier... sort of."

"Well, I remember your uniform. It was kind of a weird one so it was hard not to. But what about your gun? What kind of soldier doesn't have a gun?" Willow asked.

"It was a choice. The coolest uniform ever, or a gun. Couldn't do both."

Both girls looked a little abashed at that. They could have bought him a gun if he had asked. But he was too proud to ask and it would have been embarrassing to offer.

"So I went as an unarmed soldier from Wormhole X-treme. You guys know the show?" They both shrugged. They only knew what Xander had told them, which was plenty, but not the same as seeing it. "Well, it turns out that there aren't any names on the uniforms. There are four members of the WHX-1 team. The gray-haired colonel, the glasses wearing anthropologist, the gray-skinned robot, and the female scientist/soldier. Guess which one of those is tall with short, dark hair?"

Admittedly, Buffy and Willow did an admirable job of trying not to laugh, for teenaged girls. It didn't last long.

"You mean, you were a girl for Halloween?" Buffy controlled her laughter first and was able to ask the first question.

Xander kept his temper. He had expected this. But he couldn't stop a groan from escaping his lips. "No, I was still in my body. You saw it was me. Remember?" at least they stopped laughing to think about that. "What do you guys remember from who you were?"

Willow made a face. "I don't remember anything special. I was me, just a dead version of me."

Buffy shrugged. "I have a feeling I'm going to ace French this year and I could arrange a 16 course dinner tomorrow if I had to. Also I have this strange desire to do needle work. But I'm totally squashing that one. I refuse to even be in the same room as a needle until the drive disappears."

"If you were a soldier, why didn't you tell us that you were one that night?" Willow questioned.

"Because it wasn't me or her in control," he answered. "There was some weird, fictional alien in control. You know, which is great if we ever meet any other fictional aliens, I'll have a step up on everyone else using alien technology and all that." the lie was cast.

"So, not so much with the useful then?" Buffy asked.

"Not from the alien, no. But the soldier lady was pretty good at hand to hand combat."

"How good?" Buffy was intrigued.

"Well, we beat the crap out of Larry. That felt pretty good. I'd like to find out how good though too. The thing is, when I think about it. I can't do anything." Xander explained.

"Oh Xander. You didn't go out last night did you?" Willow whined.

"No, I got up early and sparred with Giles a bit." Xander stated. "He beat me whenever I tried to think about what I was doing. But when I let my instincts take over, I actually beat him a couple times."

"So, you want to spar with me sometime?" Buffy asked perkily.

"Strangely, no." Xander smiled back. "Actually, I was thinking Angel."

Buffy made a face, "Angel? Why Angel? You don't even like Angel."

"Exactly. I really can't control this... whatever right now. I'd rather test it on him than you. Plus, who's the better fighter, him or you?"

"Me of course."

"Exactly. It makes it easier to punch someone in the face when you don't like them very much. Once I can beat Angel, then I'll come to you for the Advanced Placement course. Okay?" Xander gave her a pleading look.

Buffy sighed. "Fine. I'll come with you tonight and see if I can talk him into beating you up." She brightened a little. "Actually that will probably the easy part." She darkened again, "It's the not killing each other part that will take some talking, won't it?"

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><p>"I found the soft drink quite refreshing, however I counted only 13 peanuts in the package I was given. It was not nearly enough to even take the edge off my hunger. I found myself hungrier than I would have been had I not been given the peanuts." Murray intoned. "I also found that there was not nearly enough space for myself. Even the false gods ensure that their troops have more room than that."<p>

"Yes, the wonders of modern air travel." Daniel quipped.

"You guys have never flown in a military aircraft." Major Louis Ferretti smirked. "Makes that feel like you were just sleeping in a queen sized bed."

"Your military transports their soldiers in conditions worse than that?" the Jaffa asked.

"Our trips tend to be much shorter than the trips you've probably been on." Jack reasoned.

"Warriors should be treated with more respect." Murray stated.

"We do the best with the technology we have." Jack argued. "And it depends on how full the plane is. A full plane is really tight. But a half-full plane is good. Both are pretty loud though."

"Indeed."

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><p>AN: I don't think I ever got 13 peanuts on a flight. Surely it was fewer than that.

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Chapter 4.<p>

Thank you to borgrabbit for most of this Haiku

Poor child of great strife  
>Lives his complicated life<br>Event Horizon

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p><em>Ah. The joys of walking through a Sunnydale cemetery at night, <em>Xander thought. But at least he had Buffy. A little vampire slayage on the way to see their tame vampire. Also Buffy didn't want him wandering the streets of Sunnydale alone after dark with Spike still on the loose. Unfortunately for Buffy's mood, there didn't seem to be any vampires out tonight. Maybe it was a Halloween hangover but the cemeteries seemed deader than normal.

"Buffy!" the souled vampire seemed quite happy to see the vampire slayer. He greeted her companion with an even, "Xander." He then led them to what he used as his living room. "I got your call, but I'm still confused.

"Okay, long story short; Xander went as a soldier for Halloween and now he has some memories of hand to hand combat training but he needs some help getting his body to do what his mind wants. Understand?" Buffy summarized.

Xander didn't just have hand to hand training. He had actual memories of hand to hand combat to the death. But he decided that now was not the time to mention that.

"A little. But, why me?" Angel looked at Xander. "You don't really like me. Why would you want me to train you?"

"I'll enjoy hitting you more. Besides that fact that I can't kill you. I'm having control issues and many of the techniques can kill. I figure, who better to practice on than a corpse?" That last barb earned him a shot in the gut from Buffy. Ow.

Angel thought about it a bit. Buffy went over and talked to him aside. Xander only caught a few murmurs before Buffy threw her arms around Angel and said, "Thank you!"

After Buffy left, Angel laid out some mats for them to spar on. "You ready? You know I'm going to hit you back, right?"

"I can take anything you can dish out." Xander assured him.

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><p>That night, Xander was in pain. But happy. He had given the vampire as good as he had gotten. There might have even been a glimmer of respect in his eyes after he helped Xander home. A three hour training session that night had finally ended when Angel got a blow in on Xander's left side. There was a good chance that he had a cracked rib or two. Xander actually found himself wishing that Jolinar were still in his head just for the healing abilities. As it was, he would have to call Angel and arrange their next meeting when he was feeling up to it. Xander snuck upstairs to find his parents passed out in front of the TV, which was fine with him. He left them there and grabbed his third huge meal of the day. Sure, teenaged metabolism was one thing, but he was going to outstrip Buffy at this rate. Anyway, he took his pile of food downstairs to his room, he ate the whole thing before turning in for bed.<p>

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><p>They left Colorado Springs at 1620. A 2 hour and 20 minute flight with a headwind got them in LA at 1740 local time after gaining an hour with the time shift. Another 3 hours in the car driving to Sunnydale and it was 2040 by the time they arrived in Sunnydale. Finding a hotel had been more difficult than expected. It was almost like they didn't want them there. It wasn't the first time O'Neill had experienced hostility towards the military, but it was the first time he had felt it in America. The clerk had finally agreed to let them have 3 rooms if they paid an extra 'After Dark' fee of $100 per room. Jack had almost ripped the guy's head off, but Daniel had stopped him and agreed to pay it.<p>

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?" O'Neill ranted once they were in their room. "I've never seen such a blatant display of discrimination against the armed forces in my life."

"Are you sure Jack?" Daniel wondered. "I mean, most of you guys are clearly military, but I'm just as clearly not. And I was getting the same looks the rest of you were. And I also didn't see hatred. I saw fear."

"Fear?" Teal'c mused and replayed the conversation in his mind. "I agree. The inn keeper did not approach within arm's reach of the desk until we had agreed to pay extra for the rooms. Even then he kept his eyes on all that was around him. It was not the actions of a warrior, but it was vigilant none the less. Perhaps he believed us to be a threat."

"You mean like the military attacked this town some time?" Jack wasn't buying it, but did add. "Daniel since you're the 'non-military' one, tomorrow ask around and see if anyone else around here thinks the military is trouble. I'll have Hammond run a check too. See if there have been any incidents here recently. Sound good?" After nods from Jackson and Teal'c, he and the Dr. went to bed while Teal'c started his kel'no'reem.

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><p>The same clerk was still on duty that morning when they woke. He was sitting in the reception area on a bench, in the sunshine from a large skylight and a series of mirrors that bounced the light around the room. The clerk tensed when he saw Jack, but actually seemed to relax when Jack approached.<p>

"Did you have a good night?" the clerk asked.

"Yes. We did." Jack replied.

"Wonderful. Breakfast is through that door," the clerk pointed. "Sunset tonight is at 6:00 sharp. Be back by then if you'd like to avoid the after dark fee."

"You mean to tell me that that's actually policy?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Technically, the policy is _no_ check ins after dark, but I bent the rules for you because you were obviously military. My brother's serving in the Marines right now." the clerk explained.

"Oh." O'Neill was a little taken aback. "Thank you."

"Hey Jack." Dr. Jackson arrived.

"Morning buddy. Breakfast is thataway." he pointed where the clerk had pointed him. With a final nod to the clerk he followed him to the breakfast nook. It wasn't much. They started eating. Teal'c joined them soon and SG-2 not long after that.

They finished eating and Major Ferretti spoke up. "Anyone notice something fishy about the clerk last night?"

"Yes," Teal'c replied. "We discussed it last night."

"Yeah, but I talked to him this morning and he seemed... better." Jack added. "He also told me that the official policy of the hotel is 'no check ins after dark'. Even told me that it'll be at 1800 sharp and that we need to get back before then to avoid additional charges."

"Curiouser and curiouser." Daniel quipped. "How was he better?"

"Well he seemed the same at first, but once I reached the reception area he seemed better. Maybe it was the light." O'Neill reasoned.

"The light?" Jackson wondered.

"Yeah, they have sunlight bouncing all around that room. Maybe he saw me 'in a better light'? So to speak." Jack wondered.

Daniel groaned. "Jack. Please?"

"Okay, okay. Let's get going. I want to swing by the school first, then we'll check out the rest of the town. Recon only today. Tomorrow we'll interview some students."

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><p>Xander woke feeling surprisingly good. He also woke surprisingly early. He blamed Carter's military memories for waking him so early. On the plus side, he was up before his parents. That allowed him to eat an entire box of cereal and had half a gallon of milk before he left. Daylight was just peeking the horizon when he walked out of the house.<p>

Walking through the park, Xander noticed that his ribs didn't hurt nearly as much as they did the night before. They no longer felt like they were cracked. Which was good. He had probably been wrong about that. They were certainly still bruised though. The mirror this morning had shown him many ugly bruises. But he was an old hat at hiding bruises. He headed for the high school. A special Sunday research party to try to figure out what the heck Spike was up to.

It was going to be a quiet, boring day. Right up to the point where he ran into SG-1 and 2.

* * *

><p>"You see? I'm telling you there is something wrong in this town." Jack lamented. "That kid was clearly scared of us."<p>

"It does not mean he was frightened of the military. He seemed equally afraid of myself and Daniel Jackson." Murray intoned.

"Yes, T-Murray. But your posture says 'Military' as strong or stronger than everyone else. And I'm traveling with six very military men. If Sam were here, it might have been better." Daniel reasoned.

"Dr. Jackson, do you believe the child would have reacted differently to the presence of a woman?" Murray asked.

"It's possible," Daniel shrugged. "You've seen it. Children are initially afraid of you and Jack, but they're willing to open up to Sam and I. Sam more than myself. I hate to admit it, but she's probably opened more doors than I have as a trained anthropologist." Daniel stopped and thought for a minute. "He could be an army brat."

"What makes you say that?" Colonel O'Neill wondered.

"Well there's an army base not far from here. Plus he called you 'Sir'." Daniel explained.

"So?"

"Well, outside the military and their children, it's very odd to hear a kid call anyone 'sir' nowadays." Daniel stated.

"Still doesn't explain the fear." Jack reasoned.

"He could be afraid that you would report him to his parents." Daniel considered.

"On a Sunday?"

"Sir?" Major Ferretti put in, "You never snuck out of the house on a Sunday?"

"He did retreat down his previous path instead of continuing on." Murray added.

"There's your explanation Jack. We caught the kid playing hookey on a Sunday and he's scared that we'll turn him in. Now, unless you really do want to turn him in, I suggest we continue our survey of the city." Daniel reasoned.

Colonel O'Neill laid out the plan to everyone. SG-1 would take the North side of the city. SG-2 would split up. Two taking the West side and two taking the east side and splitting the south between them.

SG-2 split off while Daniel Jackson tried to explain the concept of 'playing hooky' to Murray.


	3. Chapter 5 & 6

Episode 5. Return of the Jolinar

This one's a little shorter, but on the plus side Jolinar is back.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

Another note in my world, the laws of conservation of energy apply here. So the Zats work like Tasers on steroids. One shot disables, two may kill, three or more will almost certainly kill, but additional shocks after death can sometimes revive dead people (like shock paddles). Three never, ever disintegrates.

To quote Wormhole X-treme itself _MARTIN: "So, three shots disintegrates them!" DIRECTOR: "Okay, you know what? I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, because that is quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say."_

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><p><strong>Please review! <strong> Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>Xander's heart had never beat so hard. SG-1 and SG-2 here in Sunnydale. Right in front of the school. Already? It was only two days since Halloween and only a day since he had checked the SGC website. He had known it was a little risky, but knowing the truth had been worth the risk. Or so he thought. Seeing SG-1 here now, he wasn't so sure any more. His knees felt like jelly and he collapsed on the grass of the park. But where was Samantha Carter? Jolinar had given his life to ensure that she would live. Had he failed? Had both of them died after all? He suddenly felt very nauseous. He turned on his side and dry-heaved, despite his large breakfast, into the grass.<p>

He took some deep breaths. Now that he was safe-ish he could look back on the meeting with SG-1. Calling it a blackout would be too strong. He had froze. He was completely aware that he had froze. He was also aware that words had come out of his mouth anyway. That wasn't new. Saying stupid things without thinking about them was almost a trademark for him. But this had been different. Like someone else had been speaking through him. It was almost like... no. Jolinar was gone. He had felt the alien leave. Sure he left behind some memories, but nothing more, Xander assured himself.

Then he sighed. / Jolinar? /

% Yes, Xander Harris? % came the reply in his mind.

/ So you _are _still here. / Xander confirmed.

% Back would be more correct. When whatever transported me into your body took me away again, I was already beginning to slowly meld with you. A small part of me was left behind when the rest was transported away. I have been re-building myself since then. % Jolinar explained.

/ Which explains why I'm so hungry. / Xander observed.

% Yes, unfortunately the laws of conservation of energy apply to Tok'ra as well. I cannot rebuild myself magically. % the Tok'ra admitted.

/ So, you've been controlling me? /

% Not at all. Search my memories. Tok'ra do not 'control' their hosts. And besides, I'm far too weak to control anything thing right now. I have been able to influence your hormone levels to make you slightly hungrier than you would normally be. And I was only able to speak to Colonel O'Neill because you had given up control of your body. Essentially, you weren't using it at the time, so I was able to. And it was a good thing too. Especially with Samantha Carter not being here. You and I both know that I did everything in my power to save her. But if she died while I was in her body, I don't think the military is going to look favorably on my return. % Jolinar explained.

/ No, and I don't want to be caught up in that either. Just answer me one thing. Why do you sound like Sam in my head? / Xander asked.

% She was my last host. Also since we both have memories of her at this time, it was an easy vocal pattern to copy. If you wish, there are other vocal patterns I could copy. % Jolinar explained.

/ Nah. So now what? /

% Well, as you would say, first things first. There is a spy among the Tok'ra. That is the only way I could have been betrayed to the Goa'uld. I must warn them somehow. Then, I've seen enough in Samantha's and your memories to indicate that Earth would make a good ally for the Tok'ra. We have to get them in touch with each other. Preferably we must do this without alerting the SGC to our presence any more than we already have. And thirdly, we must find adequate weaponry to defend ourselves from the aliens in this 'Hellmouth'. % Jolinar thought.

/ They're not aliens. / Xander thought. / You're going to want to go to the part of my memory marked, 'this world is older than you think' and read that. /

% It's not that easy, though I have browsed your memories quite extensively. Everything that evolved on this world has red blood. Red from iron. The iron is due to the iron-rich seas in which the first life evolved on this planet. You have seen that the blood of the so called 'demons' is other colors. That indicates that they evolved on other planets and then immigrated here. % Jolinar explained.

Xander was speechless. Demons weren't here first. Human's were and demons were invading. It was a small change in perspective, but it really helped Xander's mood right now. He was a freedom fighter. "How do you explain Vampires and the Hellmouth?" Xander accidentally asked aloud. A woman walking by gave him a strange look and Xander blushed horribly.

% There are other portals besides the Stargate. It could be a dimensional portal like you believe. It could be a portal to planets in this or even other galaxies. As for vampires, I do not know. I would need to study them more in order to be sure. % Jolinar was silent for a moment. % There. Your ribs are done healing. If you could be so kind as to find more to eat though, I am quite tired now. It took all the energy from dinner, breakfast, and then some to finish healing your ribs. %

/ You healed me? I thought you were still weak? /

% You are my host. % Jolinar was confused by Xander's confusion

/ I thought you needed that energy to make yourself stronger? / Xander was still confused.

% You are my host. I do not understand your confusion. Perhaps we could discuss this over a large meal somewhere? % Jolinar suggested.

Xander stood up. His legs were still rubbery and weak, but he did some twists and bends and found that his ribs were no longer sore at all. He headed back towards school by another path. Determined to avoid any SG teams.

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><p>AN: I figure the 'big reveal' of Jolinar is good enough for it's own chapter. Even if it is a bit shorter than average. And yes, the last part of their conversation is a shout out to Mal from Firefly. A Tok'ra's first duty is to his host. There is no question of who he would heal first.

And one further note. A couple of people pointed out that red blood doesn't mean born on Earth. True. I'm not a biologist. I just made it up because it sounded good. For all I know, Jolinar made it up to make Xander feel better. (It worked)

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Chapter 6.<p>

A/N: Mentions of Star Trek and characters from that which I don't own.

**Please review!** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>The pizza was eaten and the Colonel was now leading a briefing on what each of the teams had found. The east side of the town was mostly residential. The central portion contained Main street and most of the retail district of the small city as well as some bars that were currently closed. The northern area contained the schools, some clubs and more bars, as well as a brand new Box-Mart store. The west side contained the docks about a mile outside of the town proper. Between the docks and the town was a large area filled with warehouses and factories. Some were in use. Some were not. The most interesting thing was that SG-2 had found numerous signs of use in the empty warehouses and factories. Though they hadn't actually met anyone living there. The evidence pointed to an extremely high rate of homelessness for a town of this size.<p>

Perhaps the most disturbing thing was the death rate in the town. Dr. Jackson had looked in the library for anything out of the ordinary and found it. Only the fact that almost all the death's were labeled as 'accidents' kept this town out of the most-dangerous places to live list. Animal attacks, out right disappearances and barbeque forks topped the list of accidental deaths. Either this was the unluckiest place to live or there was something else going on here. Jack had no choice. He had to call the General on this one. He stepped outside and dialed the number.

"Hammond."

"Sir, it's O'Neil."

"Good to hear from you, Colonel. How goes the investigation?" Hammond queried.

"Well sir, it goes strangely." Jack began.

"Care to elaborate?" the general asked.

"Yes sir. We've scouted the town and are planning on visiting the school tomorrow. However, Daniel found something strange." O'Neill elaborated.

"Good God. Tell me it's not an alien artifact on Earth?" The general begged.

"No sir. It has to do with the death rate in the town."

"I understood that the murder rate was normal for a town of that size?" George thought back to the briefings on Sunnydale.

"The murder rate is normal. The 'accidental death' rate however, is astronomical. This is either the unluckiest town ever or there's something else going on here. Daniel calculated the life expectancy here to be in the low 30's, sir."

General Hammond was silent for a moment while he contemplated that. "I'll start up an investigation on our end. I want you to keep your guard up while you're there and treat that city as a mixed hostile/civilian area without breaking cover if you can. Understood?"

"Yes sir!. O'Neill out." Though he waited for the general to hang up before he, himself did so as well. Then he went back inside to get some help carrying the sub-machine guns from the cars into their rooms.

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><p>Xander broke into the school kitchen for the second time this weekend. Another can of fruit and the juice was washed down by an entire gallon of milk. Xander was pretty sure that that wasn't humanly possible but decided to ignore that fact. In the library, everyone was digging into a pizza. He reached for a slice, but his hand was slapped away.<p>

"Nah-uh. Pizza is for people who helped with the research."

"Aww, come on Buff. I'm here to help now. But I need some fuel to do so." Xander found himself slipping easily back into his role as a funny side-kick.

"And seeing as I bought the pizza." Giles put in. "Xander is welcome to share as long as he agrees to help us afterward."

Buffy stuck out her tongue but then gave a smile to show she was joking as he took a slice. Then her eyes narrowed, "Are you feeling okay?" Xander nodded and Buffy shrugged, "So, how did sparring with Angel go last night?"

"Tough." Xander answered. "I was pretty sure I had a cracked rib, but it's fine today. So I was wrong." He swallowed before allowing, "Angel did good. He pushed me just far enough." It was technically another lie. But he was about to expose his last lie and complimenting the vampire might buy him enough brownie points to not be pummeled to death when he explained things to them. The arrival of SG-1 had really thrown a wrench into his earlier plans to not tell his friends anything. _Here __it __goes. __Quick l__ike a band-aid. _"Oh and by the way, it turns out that the fictional alien I told you about wasn't so fictional. Aliens are real and I have the memories of one in my head." he blurted out. Only a little lie. He didn't want to tempt anyone into trying to dissect him.

All sound in the library stopped. Buffy had stopped moving with a piece of pizza halfway to her open mouth. Xander took the opportunity to finish his slice and grab another one. It wasn't until he finished that one and started another that anyone made a sound.

"Aliens." Buffy said disbelievingly.

"Aliens." Willow said longingly.

If there was anyone who would believe him about aliens it would be his fellow Trekker. The only thing that he, Jesse and Willow had disagreed on was Kirk or Picard. He was adamant that Kirk was the greatest, Willow was firmly in Picard's camp, and Jesse was a huge Spock fanboy.

"Aliens?" Giles asked. Finally joining the group.

"Yeah." Xander answered all their inquiries at once. "It's all here in that book you loaned me." Xander pulled the book he had read yesterday out of his backpack.

"Dr. Jackson's book? He was right?"

"More or less. Now, what I found fascinating was the timing. The aliens arrived on Earth almost exactly when the demons were kicked off it." Xander began.

"Xander." Buffy interrupted.

"Huh?"

"You said fascinating. And you meant it." Buffy shook her head in amazement.

"Yeah. I have the memories of three people in my head right now. One is an alien and one is an astrophysicist. New vocabulary is part of the package." Xander explained. "But even before I got these memories, I always wondered how a bunch of spear throwing primitives had managed to drive some very powerful demons from our dimension. This actually explains a lot."

"Good lord. This could revolutionize demonology as we know it." Giles' eyes were glassy as he contemplated the possibilities.

"Then this might really blow your mind. Jolinar, that's the name of my alien, looked through my memories and saw that the blood of demons is different than the blood of anything that evolved on earth. Which, according to him, means that demons didn't evolve here. They are probably from another planet. Almost certainly not one in this galaxy. It could be one in another dimension or it could be one in another galaxy."

"Another galaxy?" Willow was practically drooling.

Xander smiled at her and quoted, "To boldly go where no man has gone before."

"Is Dr. Jackson aware that his theories are true?" Giles wondered half to himself.

"Yeah. He travels to other planets regularly." Xander paused just a moment before adding. "And he's in town if you'd like to meet him."

"What is he doing here?"Giles wondered.

"Looking for me, I'd expect." Xander answered glumly.

"Why would he be looking for you?" Buffy asked with a slight edge to her voice.

"Well, right after Halloween I couldn't be sure whether the memories I had were real or not. Remember, I went as a fictional character. Going as a Jedi might have given me the knowledge needed to build a light-saber, but it wouldn't make it possible in this world." Xander looked around. Willow nodded readily, Giles gave and acquiescing shrug and Buffy just stared at him. "So I went online and logged into the website of the Stargate Command.

Willow gave a sharp intake of breath. "Xander! You hacked the SGC?"

"No. I didn't hack. I just used a username and password I happened to remember." then he added, "You knew about the SGC?"

"Yeah! They're some _really_ top-secret government program. As far as I know, no one has been able to hack them yet." Willow answered.

"And just how would you know something like that?" this time it was Giles with an edge to his voice.

"Oh! Umm..." Willow started to draw into herself and almost seemed to shrink. "I just know some people... online. Not bad people. They just like to test stuff, but not do any damage or... any... thing..." Willow trailed off.

"We'll discuss this more later." Giles assured her firmly.

"Yes, please. Because the first thing I'd like to do is make sure I don't get dissected." Xander moved the conversation forward.

"Dissected!" Buffy was suddenly on Xander's side again. "No one is dissecting you." she assured him.

"You either." he agreed.

"Me!?" - "Her?" - "Buffy?" came the replies all at once.

"The military is here with Dr. Jackson. They run the Stargate program." Xander explained.

"The military?" Buffy slouched. She didn't want to go up against the military. They used guns. She hated guns.

"The people here are good people. Including Daniel. I mean Dr. Jackson. But they aren't always in charge. And I don't want to end up in the hands of some of those who are." Xander paused and hoped that they would agree. "So, I have a mission for us tonight. Keep them alive while making sure that they leave first thing tomorrow; without taking us with them."

Xander tore a sheet of paper out of a notebook. On it he wrote the gate address for the Tok'ra along with a message. 'There is a spy among the Tok'ra. It is the only way that Jolinar could have been found by the Goa'uld. Go there quickly and explain the situation to them. If Jolinar was betrayed, it is only a matter of time before the Tok'ra base is as well. Explain to Martouf/Lantash that Jolinar is in a better place.' Xander smiled a bit at that last part. Daniel would assume that he meant the Tok'ra version of Heaven, but Lantash would understand that Jolinar was still alive and would be okay.


	4. Chapter 7 & 8

Chapter 7

**Please review!** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>Major General George Hammond was having a bad day. SG-1 and SG-2 were in California investigating someone hacking the SGC public database. They had called in that there was something very, very strange going on there. And now he had just gotten off the phone with the President. Apparently the NID had claimed Sunnydale as their own and he was ordered to pull his people out. He had managed to negotiate one more day for them to check out the high school tomorrow and then they had to leave. He wasn't looking forward to O'Neill's (admittedly righteous) whining about the NID. And now he was on the phone with a young man from Sunnydale.<p>

"Sorry, I don't know anything about a hacking. Our group doesn't use computers very much. Kinda old fashioned, you might say."

Hammond wasn't sure if the young man was telling the truth or not. But he was willing to give the young man the benefit of the doubt for now. "Then why are you calling?" he demanded (nicely).

"I saw your men here. I didn't want them to get hurt." the man said dubiously.

"Is that some type of threat?" the general growled. His men weren't in uniform and certainly weren't about to go banding words like StarGate Command around. Never mind the number to his office. Whoever this was had just shown that they knew an awful lot about the SGC, including recognizing his men on sight.. That someone knew that much about them in such a small town either meant that he knew the hacker or was the hacker.

A sigh came through the phone. "Sir, if I told you a year ago that messing with Apophis would be a bad idea... would you consider that a threat or a warning? This is not a safe town for the unprepared. And your men are unprepared for what they will face here. You don't bring a pistol to a death glider fight, sir."

"Just what are you saying?" Hammond pressed.

"Your men lack the weapons and the training to deal with the threat here." the voice answered.

"What exactly are they facing then?" George decided he was going to need more Tums.

"That's classified." Hammond could almost hear the smirk on the other end. Then another sigh. "Tell you what. I'll see if I can convince one of our freedom fighters to allow your men to come on patrol tonight. I'm sending a Dr. Rupert Giles over to the hotel right now. He tells me he and Dr. Jackson are already acquaintances. He'll explain to Dr. Jackson and his team what he feels they need to know, they can then brief you when they get back. If you don't like that, then I suggest that you pull your team out now."

Hammond hung up when his line went dead.

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><p>Xander chuckled after he hung up the phone. That was actually pretty fun. Being able to jerk around a 2 star general is not something you get to do every day. If they ever met, Xander was sure he was going to pay for that, but hopefully they would not meet. He checked his watch. Giles and Buffy should be arriving at the hotel any minute now. He silently thanked Buffy that she was brave enough to face the military for him. He started heading that way too. If nothing else, he wasn't going to let Buffy be taken in his place.<p>

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><p>Slayer and Watcher entered the lobby of the hotel not long before sundown. She had saved the clerk one night not too long ago and he was only too happy to point out the rooms the military people were in and Dr. Jackson in particular.<p>

"They're not...?" the clerk began.

"No, I'm just here to show them around town." Buffy answered with a somewhat devious smile.

The clerk looked out at the setting sun and gulped. Buffy and Giles walked down the hall to the indicated room and knocked.

The door opened and a tall man in green fatigues opened the door with a phone to his ear. "Yes, General. I think they might be here." He hung up. "Are you Dr. Rupert Giles?"

"I am. But please call me Rupert. Or just Giles is fine as well." Giles offered his hand. The other man hesitated a moment before taking it.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, US Air Force." Jack answered. He then offered his hand to Buffy.

"Buffy." she stated when she shook his hand. She had kamikaze butterflies in her stomach meeting professional soldiers like this. But they suddenly cleared up and she squeezed a little harder than necessary when she saw a smirk forming on his lips. Then she released and looked up at Giles. "You're a doctor?"

"Later, Buffy." Giles said as a man with glasses stepped forward. "Ah yes, Dr. Jackson. A pleasure to meet you again." Giles grasped the man's hand.

"Dr. Giles. I remember you from my last seminar. You were one of the few people who didn't laugh at my presentation." Daniel greeted him warmly.

"Please, call me Rupert."

"Only if you call me Daniel."

The big guy who had been standing in the back of the room stepped forward. Buffy immediately placed herself in between Giles and the large man. "He's not human. Is he one of those alien thingamabobs?"

Teal'c quirked an eyebrow at O'Neill who waved for him to go ahead. "I am a Jaffa."

"A Jaafa? Really?" Giles was intrigued.

"It is pronounced Jaffa." Teal'c corrected.

"What's a Jay-fah?" Buffy asked her watcher.

"The Jaffa," Giles carefully pronounced the name just as Teal'c had, "were the servants of the demon-god Ra and his family."

"Okay, then what's he doing here?" Buffy asked.

"He's a good Jaffa. He fights for our side now." O'Neill explained for what felt like the hundredth time. He was temped to get Teal'c a new tattoo that said 'Good Jaffa' so he could stop explaining it to people.

"Oh. Okay." Buffy stepped back and relaxed, allowing Teal'c to step forward.

Jack smirked a little at the way she went from ready to kill to cute little teen just like that.

"I am Murray." He shook Giles' hand.

Giles looked confused. "Is there a Teal'c here as well?"

O'Neill was torn between being irked and impressed. Their intelligence was top notch. "Murray is a cover name."

Giles nodded. Teal'c and Buffy then shook hands. They both looked uncomfortable.

"He's giving me the wiggins." Buffy explained.

"I too am experiencing discomfort being so close to this one." Teal'c explained letting go of her hand.

"Just what are you then?" Jack asked.

"Hey!" Buffy was offended. "I'm human... mostly." she looked at Giles and waved her hand. "Do your thing."

They had to wait a minute while Daniel ran and collected SG-2. There were more introductions then Giles gave them his speech and explained their new theory that it was the arrival of the Gould (corrected by Daniel to Goa'uld) that drove the demons/aliens from earth. Then he explained the Vampire Slayer and her powers. Buffy jumped in explaining in no uncertain terms that there would be no dissections.

Jack and everyone from the SGC readily agreed with her. None of them had ever met such a small girl that could strike fear into battle hardened men before.

"Well that certainly explains the desk clerk's actions last night." Jack observed.

Then it was time to patrol.

"No guns." Buffy said firmly.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jack complained.

"Colonel O'Neill," Giles jumped in before Buffy could retort. "the things we hunt shrug off bullets like they were bee stings. Running around in the dark with weapons that can hurt us, but not our enemies is a recipe for disaster. Now I have some weapons in my boot that you can use. They may be a bit archaic for your tastes, but they do at least work. You will not be unarmed."

"Boot?" Jack asked looking down at the watcher's footwear.

"Trunk of his car. It's a British term." Daniel offered. Ever translating, even on Earth.

"Ahh." Jack nodded.

Teal'c then pulled his staff weapon out from under his bed. "Slayer Buffy, will this be effective against the creatures we hunt?"

Buffy took the staff from Teal'c. She opened the window, activated the weapon as if she had fired one before and fired a shot into a tree outside, leaving a melted hole in the screen of the window. Then she closed the weapon and handed it back to Teal'c. "Awesome. That should work. It'll make a good quarter-staff if it doesn't."

"We can't take the staff weapon." Jack started to argue. "We can't let civilians see it."

"This town is infested with vampires, Jack. And no one notices. They're not going to notice a staff weapon." Buffy argued back. Then to Teal'c, "Just try not to fire it around civilians. K?" Teal'c nodded, and Buffy went on. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of those would you?"

"No!" Giles and Jack both said together.

"Okay, okay." Buffy threw up her hands. "You burn down one little gym and they never let you play with anything fun again."

"You burned down your gym?" Jack asked incredulously.

"It was infested with vampires." Buffy said as if that explained everything.

"Indeed."

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

A/N: Well that was some interesting feedback. I have half my reviewers saying "Thank you for not making us read pages of disbelief from SG-1" and the other half saying "Where's the pages of disbelief from SG-1?"

And a VERY SPECIAL thank you to tasuxeda who proposed the challenge and has now offered us his recommendation. Thank you tasuxeda.

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><p>"Are you really buying this 'demons and vampires' thing?" Jack whispered to Daniel as they armed themselves.<p>

"As in supernatural beings. No of course not." Dr. Jackson whispered back. "But we've seen stranger stuff on other planets. There's plenty of evidence that _something_ is here. There's probably a much more mundane explanation of the creatures than they think. Just try not to say anything to tick them off?"

"Who? Me?"

Daniel shook his head at the grin his friend gave him and walked over to where everyone was kitting out.

The soldiers stood in the parking lot decked out for medieval warfare. Jack, Giles and two men from SG-2 had crossbows. The rest all had a sword or an ax. Jack and Giles also had swords. Everyone had at least 2 stakes.

"Listen up. These are the rules. You stick with Giles. No one leaves his side." Buffy told the battle hardened soldiers. Teal'c cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "Fine. No one but Teal'c leaves the group. Just stay in visual range." Buffy changed her mind and Teal'c nodded his approval.

"Like she said. Stick together people." O'Neill backed up Buffy.

"How come he gets to go off on his own?" a young Lieutenant from SG-2 asked.

"Because he's faster and stronger than you and he's an expert with a weapon that actually has a chance of killing a vampire. If you had more staff weapons, I might consider smaller groups, but this will have to do." Buffy stated. "Any other stupid questions?"

Giles winced at his Slayer's lack of diplomacy. They would have to work on that later.

* * *

><p>The patrol was going well. Buffy had found a fledgling and punched and kicked it over to a street lamp so that everyone could get a good look at it. She then handed it off to Teal'c, who hit it with staff weapon a couple times before shooting it once. It exploded in a cloud of dust.<p>

"Guess we add staff weapon to the list of ways to kill a vampire." Buffy noted. "Everyone see that? That was a fledgling. It was his first night as a vamp and he was alone. The older a vamp gets, the harder they are to kill. But even fledges can be dangerous." Buffy felt like she was teaching class. "Where did that one guy go? Maybe he wants to try the next one?"

Everyone looked around. "Turner? Any one seen Turner? And where's Ferretti?" Jack asked.

Buffy got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and her voice got very serious, "Giles, Teal'c. You take them back to the hotel. I'll get the others." With that, she took off.

"Okay, Daniel. You just saw a guy explode after taking a staff blast. Tell me what your mundane explanation of that is." O'Neill growled as they marched back to the hotel.

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><p>Lieutenant Turner had this in the bag. No stupid little girl was going to tell him what to do. He couldn't believe how the Major had bent over for the ditsy blonde. He had a sword and a year and a half of Kendo under his belt. He had seen how easily the little girl had manhandled the vampire. She even had time to make up bad jokes while doing so. Trying to scare them into thinking it was hard or something. A quick beheading and he'd soon have his first vampire kill. Until he came across an actual vamp and he found that it was both faster and stronger than he had thought. He barely had time to register what a bad idea this was before he was being drained.<p>

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><p>The vamp had his back to him, had Lt. Turner in his grasp, and appeared to be feeding on him. Major Ferretti took aim and hoped that the bolt didn't go all the way through. <em>Thump! <em>came the sound of the bolt striking home. Just to the right of the monster's heart. Ferretti didn't hesitate. He charged the vampire with a stake while the beast was still trying to dislodge the bolt from it's back. They fell into stake to hand combat. And Ferretti knew he was losing. He wasn't sure if the bolt still in the vampire's back was hampering him at all. If it was, he didn't want to face a vampire at full strength. It would certainly rival Teal'c. Switching his stake to his left hand, he drew the side arm he didn't leave back at the hotel as requested. He emptied the full clip into his opponent. The vamp staggered for a second, then gave a feral grin. Ferretti didn't bother to reload the gun. He just threw it at the vamp's face and charged behind that distraction.

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><p>Buffy was searching the area she thought the soldiers had gone towards. Suddenly gunshots rang out. A lot of shots. Buffy was actually thankful that that stupid soldier hadn't followed that order. It might allow her to reach him in time to save his sorry a- butt.<p>

Oh no! The vamp had him and was already feeding. A burst of speed and a stake and the vamp was dust. Buffy barely registered that he had already had a bolt sticking out of his back. The body of his last victim fell into her arms. But it wasn't Stupid Soldier, it was the other guy. The leader of SG-2. Buffy put a hand to his neck. He had a pulse but it was weak. She picked him up. Then she spotted the other guy. The one who had started all this was lying not far away. And she could see he was still breathing too. She threw the first soldier over her shoulder then did the same with the second. And she prayed that she didn't run into any more vamps on the way to the hospital.

When she got to the hospital she explained that they were having a barbeque fork fight and that they'd lost a lot of blood. It wasn't the first time she had used that line with this nurse. The woman no longer even blinked when she brought in people weighing more than 3 times her body weight. Instead, she gave her a knowing smile and then gave orders to type their blood and get IV's started.

Buffy called the hotel from the reception area phone.

* * *

><p>"She found them." Giles said as he hung up the phone. "They were both drained almost to the point of death, but she may have gotten to them in time. We won't know until tomorrow I'm afraid."<p>

"Fine, let's get over there." Jack stood up.

"I'm afraid Buffy is too tired and is heading home for the night. She wont be able to escort us over there. We'll be staying here until morning, when it will be safe again."

"Listen. My men-" Jack began.

"Are perfectly safe. There's not enough blood in them to interest a vampire any more. The rest of your men would be the ones in danger from such a trip. And do you honestly think you can sneak that staff weapon into a hospital? I doubt even the residents of Sunnydale would miss that in a brightly lit room." Giles argued.

"Fine." Jack growled. "First thing tomorrow then."

"I was wondering if I might take one of the injured soldier's beds?" Giles queried. At a look from O'Neill, he continued, "I said 'we' are staying here. I don't take any unnecessary risks myself if I can help it. And going home alone, at night, when I have a secure enough position here would be foolish."

Jack acquiesced and Giles ended up with a room of his own for the night.

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><p><strong>Don't forget to review.<strong>


	5. Chapter 9 & 10

Chapter 9

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>Xander spent the night trailing the soldiers of the SGC as they got their guided tour of Sunnydale. Like everyone else, he got distracted by Buffy putting on a show with the fledgling. He debated only a second before deciding to clear the way for the group back to the hotel. Buffy could take care of herself. SG-1 would be... helpless was the wrong word. Out of their depth might be better. They were all experienced soldiers, but facing a new enemy they were ill-equipped to handle.<p>

Xander was able to take out another fledgling on the way. It wasn't easy, but after sparring with Angel the other night, it seemed easier. A quick jab of the stake finished the battle. None too soon either. The group was approaching. Much louder than a group of Special Ops soldiers should. The unfamiliar weapons they were carrying were making quite a racket.

They were almost back to the hotel when the sound of distant gunfire echoed through the small town. Xander calmed himself with the thought that there was no reason that those shots would be aimed at Buffy. It was also very likely that the shots came from the missing SG-2 members. Which meant that they were probably alive right now, but under attack. He hoped that everyone was alright. The sound of Colonel O'Neill calmly telling everyone that "It's a good sign. It means they're still alive." woke Xander from his thoughts. He watched from some nearby bushes as Giles and the SGC teams made it safely inside.

He was about to take off after they got back, but he heard a phone ring through SG-1's still open (and holey) window. He snuck close and heard enough to know that Buffy had taken the guys to the hospital before he took off.

% We are in need of more energy if you can acquire it. % Jolinar thought to him.

/ Any preferences? / Xander thought back.

% Liquefied energy is the easiest to process. Anything with sugar or alcohol in it will give me the calories I need. % Jolinar explained.

/ Alcohol is out. / Xander stated firmly. Then he concentrated hard on a few specific memories of Tony Harris.

% I apologize. I did not see those memories when I first browsed your mind. % Jolinar paused. % I'm not pushing, but you need not fear such a result yourself. As your symbiote, I can filter the alcohol from your system almost before it hits your brain. You would have to drink enough to kill a normal man before you felt a thing. %

/ Whatever. / Xander dismissed the idea. / Let's just stick to sugary drinks. They taste better and will be easier to get anyway. /

There was only one all-night fast food restaurant in Sunnydale. Local vamps never seemed to bother the place either. Xander figured they had made a deal with the owner. Either that or the vamps just didn't like the taste of those who frequented fast food restaurants.

A jr. cheeseburger and a small pop was almost $3.00 after CA sales tax. Xander shook his head at the small amount of change he received.

Jolinar was also displeased. % I don't mean to nag, but that doesn't seem like it will be enough for you, much less both of us. %

/ Jolinar, my friend, I'm about to introduce you to the wonders of 'unlimited refills'. / Xander smiled.

One cheese burger, 22 cups of soda, and one bathroom break later, both he and Jolinar left satisfied.

% I have to say. That is an incredible amount of sugar your people use in your soda pop. % Jolinar stated.

/ Thanks. I think. / Xander smirked.

% Well, I can't say it would be safe for a normal human to eat like that, but I found it incredibly useful. Would it be possible to consume that much soda pop everyday? % Jolinar wondered.

/ It's possible. But I would need more money first. / Xander replied glumly.

% I see. We have little to offer in trade? % Jolinar confirmed.

/ Yeah. No one wants to hire a 17 year old kid to do anything but mop floors. / Xander groused.

% There is nothing wrong with manual labor if it gets us the needed currency. % Jolinar insisted.

/ It's more about the time. I'm busy helping Buffy and training with Angel and now we're watching out for SG-1 too. There's no time for anything else right now. / Xander explained as they arrived home. He entered his basement room quietly and snuck up the stairs to check on his parents. They were not passed out in front of the TV this time. That could be good or bad, Xander decided not to risk it and went back to bed.

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><p>Xander woke early and left without breakfast. Jolinar wondered why, but Xander told him it was too risky without explaining more. They were both silent on the walk to the hospital.<p>

They watched Giles lead the SGC teams across the parking lot and followed at a safe distance. Xander had a plan but the trick was going to be to get Dr. Jackson on his own. Luckily, Dr. Jackson was walking at the back of the pack. A dry erase marker in his back and a whispered word to keep walking and Xander guided him down a left hand turn before the rest of the team even realized he was gone. A few more turns and they arrived in an empty exam room.

Xander sat in the patient's chair in front of the door and let Dr. Jackson have the doctor's chair at the back of the room.

"Oh god! It's you. The kid from yesterday. The one who was scared of us." Daniel's eyes got wide as the wheels started turning. "You're the one that hacked the SGC computer."

Xander shook his head and laughed. "I've never hacked a thing in my life." It was true.

"Then why did you kidnap me?" Daniel asked.

"I just want to talk, then you're free to go" Xander stated.

"You're the one with the gun." Daniel offered.

Xander showed him his marker. "Not so much." He put it in his pocket and showed him his note. "This is the address for the current Tok'ra base. The note explains the rest."

Daniel read it quickly and looked up, "Why should I help you? You did kidnap me after all. And if I didn't know that Jolinar was already dead, I might think you were his host."

"Well, Nem kidnapped you. You helped him." Xander shrugged. _Daniel wasn't going to help him? Nothing was going to plan._

"Who?"

"P8X-361. The fish guy! Omoroca? We thought you were dead." Xander waved his arms. That memory was very vivid in Carter's memories. "Besides, I don't want you to help me. I want to help you. The Tok'ra could be powerful allies. I just don't want to end up in NID custody for helping you."

Jackson looked away at the last statement. After a moment he said, "You might want to leave town then. The NID have claimed this town as their own. We've been ordered out as soon as Ferretti and Turner are well enough to walk. Jack said they're already building a base here."

The kid stiffened. Daniel watched as every fiber of the boy's body tensed. Veins stood out on his neck and the knuckles on his clenched fists turned white. He took a deep breath. Then another. Slowly the kid's body started to relax. One last deep breath and he looked at Daniel again.

"Have you submitted your reports about last night yet?" Xander asked.

Daniel shook his head slowly, "No."

"You're going to take Buffy out of your reports." Xander said evenly.

"Why?" Daniel asked. But the kid wasn't listening to him. Instead he was talking to himself.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. I shouldn't have asked her to go. I should have let the SG teams twist. See what happens when you have divided loyalties? SG-1 is fine, but now they're going to hand Buffy over to the NID for dissection."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Nobody is dissecting anybody." Daniel tried to calm the clearly distraught young man.

"Sometimes I forget you're not military. They'll dissect her and sleep well that night. You would all be dead if it weren't for her." Xander shook his head then looked up at Daniel. "Did Carter survive?" Xander asked.

"What?" It was such a strange turn about from what he had just said that it caught Daniel off guard.

"Dr. Captain Samantha Carter. Did she survive when Jolinar died?" Xander's voice was edged with anger and a hint of panic now.

"Yes! Yes. She's okay. She just wasn't up to making the trip here." Daniel answered quickly.

"Good." Xander stood. "I have to go."

The boy's eye's were glassy. He was probably going into shock. Daniel tried to stop him. "How do you know all this?"

"Magic." came the answer and Daniel found himself staring down an empty hallway.

"Daniel!" Came a shout behind him. "There you are," O'Neill and Teal'c ran up. "We've been looking all over for you. What's up?"

"We need to talk." Daniel said.

* * *

><p>"Let me see if I've got this straight." O'Neill paced in front of the healthy members of SG-1 and SG-2. "The scared kid we ran into in front of the high school, kidnapped you at <em>marker point<em>." Teal'c eye brow rose at that remark and O'Neill continued, "and handed you a note with the address to, and a message for, the Tok'ra." Daniel nodded before Jack continued. "You felt guilty about receiving intel from someone half your age so you decided to divulge that the NID is coming to town and already building a _secret_ military base here." He paused for a moment. "At which point the kid, who's name we still don't know, turned green, said 'Hulk Smash', and left. Did that about sum it up?"

"You forgot the part where he asked us to lie in official reports and said that his knowledge came from magic." Daniel added helpfully. The line that used to be Jack O'Neill's lips told him he probably should have stayed quiet at that moment.

"Sir," a young sergeant from SG-2 spoke up, "What would the NID do to her if they found out about Buffy?"

"The NID is not an honorable organization." Teal'c answered, "I do not know specifics of what actions they might take. But I for one will not help them in acquiring information on Slayer Buffy."

The sergeant was quiet for a moment and shared a look with the other healthy member of his team. "I don't think any of us want anything to happen to Buffy."

"Sergeant?" Jack asked the other member of SG-2. "Falsifying mission reports is a serious offense."

The man just nodded. "You can count on me sir."

Jack turned to Daniel. "This was your idea. You're re-writing Ferretti's and Turner's mission reports. Once we're done, we'll head over to the high school and finish this god-forsaken mission."

Daniel nodded. Jack wasn't about to do any extra paperwork, he was lucky Jack didn't have him do his as well. "What about the magic?"

"I got to watch a guy with yellow eyes and fangs explode last night." Jack began, "Do I believe in magic? No. But it doesn't matter. It's not our investigation anymore. We're visiting that school and then this insane mission is over and we can go back to normal stuff like alien snakes that burrow into your head and make your eyes glow."

* * *

><p>The new reports were full of holes. Dr. Giles arrived alone, explained demons, armed them, and took them hunting. Teal'c beat one up with his staff weapon and shot it. Turner went off alone and Ferretti followed. The sound of gunfire drew Teal'c, who saved the two men and carried them to the hospital. Ferretti signed off immediately. Turner signed under the glares of his remaining team members.<p>

That onerous task done, it was time to head to the school. After some lively debate, the Colonel decided that Teal'c would remain behind and guard the two injured members of SG-2. Jack and Daniel would visit the school and try to flush out whoever was doing the hacking. Unless it really was that kid whose name they didn't know, it was hoped that who ever did it would recognize Jack and Daniel and try to escape. SG-2 was no longer large enough to cover all the exits, so they would back off and just widely cover the front and back. Observing if anyone came out and radioing in.

Not long after entering the school, Jack and Daniel were confronted by a rather angry, bald man claiming to be the principal of the school.

"Daniel, do you get the feeling we've met him before?" Jack asked as the angry man walked away.

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting that guy, Jack." Daniel replied.

O'Neill snapped his fingers. "There's just something about him." He shook his head. It would probably come to him later.

The bell broke him out of his thoughts. Suddenly he and Daniel were surrounded by hundreds of kids.

"Dr. Jackson. Over here." A voice yelled to them. Dr. Giles was standing in a doorway, motioning to them. Carefully making their way through the sea of children, Jack and Daniel joined the other man. The press of children suddenly lifted, Jack and Daniel found themselves in a small library.

"It can get a bit hectic out there between classes, fortunately the library seems to magically repel children. We should be safe here. Can I interest you in some tea?" Giles motioned towards his office.

"Sure." Daniel accepted for them both.

"Hey Giles! This crossbow has a broken- Oh. Hey Dr. J! And Soldier guy! How are your friends?" Buffy came out of the book cage.

"They'll survive, thanks to you. And you can call me Jack."

"And you can call me Daniel. That's actually what we'd like to talk to you about."

"We wanted to ask you not to talk about what happened last night." Jack began. "If anyone ever asks you, only Dr. Giles came that night?"

"And just who killed the vamps?" Buffy questioned.

"Not that you'd know, but Murray did. He's also the only one strong enough to carry both men to the hospital." O'Neill explained. "Just trust me. There are some very bad people in the area and-"

"Oh, you mean those NID guys?" Buffy interrupted. "Yeah Xa-"

"Buffy." it was Giles' turn to interrupt. "There's some string in my desk, why don't you restring that crossbow?" Jack and Daniel exchanged a look. "Would you still like that tea?"

"I think we'll take a rain-check." Jack said.

"Well, thank you for your warning. We will certainly take it to heart. And I sincerely thank you for keeping Buffy out of this. She's a very... unique child." Giles thanked them.

Jack and Daniel turned to leave, but Buffy's voice turned them around. "Daniel, catch!" She threw him a marker. "It's a dangerous world out there. You have to be careful." she said with an ear to ear grin.

Giles groaned and rubbed his forehead, but Jack was doing his best not to break out laughing. "Let's go, buddy."

* * *

><p>'<em>Cleared for <em>_light__ duty.' What did that even mean? _ Samantha Carter wondered. Basically it meant that Jolinar was dead and her body had been reabsorbed by Sam's body. _Brave Jolinar._ Another tear dripped down her cheek. What 'cleared for duty' didn't mean was that she was well. She didn't know if she would ever be well again. Her thoughts on Jolinar were mixed and contradictory. On the one hand, she had saved Sam at the cost of her own life. On the other, she had invaded Samantha against the host's will, which to the Tok'ra and to Sam was akin to rape.

Jolinar had dug through her mind at will. Not painfully nor did she bring up hurtful things in her past on purpose. She simply wanted to live and was willing to use just about any means to do so. But when they were both dying and Jolinar had the power to save Samantha with the last of her own strength, she gave up her life willingly.

So now Captain Carter was fine, physically. Mentally and emotionally, she was not fine and didn't know if she ever would be again. They had her seeing the base shrink and probably wouldn't even be putting her on light duty if they didn't need her help to make sure their computer systems were okay and virus free.

So, she would soldier on. Because she was a soldier and that was what soldiers did. They followed orders and did their duty no matter how much it might tear them up inside.

* * *

><p>AN: 22 cups of soda. 12 oz small pop = a little over 2 gallons of pop. Around 3,000 calories depending on the kind of pop.

P8X-361 – I couldn't find the real address. Then next address an SG team was visiting was P8X-362.

Also, I don't know if anyone else noticed, but Armin Shimerman who played the principal in BtVS for 2 seasons also had a guest spot as one of the Nox on SG-1.

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><p>.<p>

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><p>Chapter 10. Road Trip.<p>

I'm dedicating this chapter to all my regular reviewers. Reviews really are my inspiration and you guys keep me going. And in particular to VillageOrchid, who completely missed the point the general was trying to make when he originally suggested this road trip. I still laugh when I read your review. Thank you.

A/N: There are references to real places and other fictional characters that I do not own in this chapter, including Disneyland and other Disney characters.

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><p>The new mission reports had been faxed to General Hammond from Camp Roberts, the nearby <em>official <em>army base. O'Neill had tried to gain access to the NID base but had been shot down. The injured SG-2 members had been discharged from the hospital with strict order of no driving and no exertion for at least a week. Essentially, they would be along for the ride until they reached base and were cleared by Dr. Fraiser. It was, in short, the perfect time for the road trip the general had not quite ordered them to take. Taking Highway 1 back down the coast in daylight was spectacular. Teal'c spent a great deal of time just staring at the ocean whenever the road passed close to it.

But it was Disneyland where Teal'c looked like a kid in a candy shop. Neither Jack nor Daniel could remember ever seeing the big guy so happy. With a Mickey Mouse hat and an ear to ear grin it was hard for any one on either team not to respond in kind. Anyone except for Lt. Turner. The man seemed to positively wear a storm cloud. He and Major Ferretti ended up spending a lot of time together as neither one was allowed to go on any ride stronger than the Lazy River. Which Teal'c happily joined them on... twice. Looking around Teal'c exclaimed, "I must bring Rya'c to this place, O'Neill. There is nothing on Chulack to compare."

"That might not be possible for a while, Murray." O'Neill cautioned. "But I'll see what I can do."

"What is this food, O'Neill?" Murray asked later.

"We call it Cotton Candy." Jack explained.

"I understand. It is soft like cotton, yet sweet like candy. A good name." Teal'c stood. "Come O'Neill we have not yet ridden the roller coaster called Sudden Plunge."

_You have to give it to the guy. He never does anything half way._ O'Neill thought as he stood up.

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><p>The next morning, the giant Redwood forest had Teal'c gazing in awe though not with the glee he had the day before. Daniel got to be the tour guide as O'Neill was less than enthusiastic about seeing more trees.<p>

"I can see them from here." Jack stated.

"You do not wish to see the forest O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

Jack shook his head. "They're trees. Really big trees, but I've seen trees before."

Jack got to play his gameboy while he babysat Lt Turner instead.

Daniel and the rest of the troops marched off into the forest. Daniel read from a travel guide, "giant sequoias grow only in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains toward the state's eastern border. The most massive living things on earth, they can reach 280 feet tall and 23 feet across. The largest rise a little over 300 feet and spread almost 30 feet across. The oldest have been around over 3,000 years."

* * *

><p>After an early lunch they were on the road by 1100 and headed to Las Vegas. They arrived not long after sundown. Everyone was understandably a little nervous being out after dark after their experiences in Sunnydale and stuck close together. They caught a show, which Teal'c enjoyed in his own impassive way. O'Neill gave Teal'c $100 and taught him the rules of Blackjack. The Jaffa seemed an apt hand at the game and quickly amassed a little over $1,000. Jack and Daniel tore him away from the tables and had to explain to him that yes, the point was to win, but since he was supposed to be undercover, it would be better if he didn't draw attention to himself. Teal'c was still confused but complied. Earth was such a strange place.<p>

* * *

><p>They chose not to overnight in Las Vegas and to instead take the drive to the next location in shifts. Leaving around 0100, they arrived in plenty of time to watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. Even if Jack was less than impressed with the trees, it was hard not to be impressed by the Grand Canyon. Even Turner seemed to forget to mope for a while. Though he went right back to moping when he found out that everyone besides him and the Major were going whitewater rafting that day.<p>

"Enjoyed that, did ya?" Jack asked when they were finished.

"It was most... exhilarating." Teal'c agreed. "We must do this again. O'Neill."

Jack nodded. "Tell you what. There's a river by my cabin in Minnesota. I promise you that one day we'll go up there and shoot the rapids."

"I do not wish to shoot them O'Neill," Teal'c replied. "I wish to take a boat through them. Much as we just did."

"No, Murray." Daniel explained. "What we just did is called shooting the rapids."

"I see."

* * *

><p>After a fun-filled day in the Grand Canyon, they decided to split the trip to Texas and stopped in Albuquerque for the night. The next day they spent over 10 hours driving. They stopped in Roswell simply for the sake of irony. Everyone but Teal'c and Turner was having a hard time keeping a straight face over lunch. Every time they met each others' eyes, a new round of snickering started. Though the Colonel and the Major did a better job of disguising it than the others.<p>

"Your friends okay?" the waitress asked Murray.

"I am unsure. They have been this way since O'Neill suggested that we stop here for lunch. If there is a joke, I have not been told the punchline." Murray answered. "Though it seems to increase every time a child walks by with one of those green toys."

"You mean the aliens?" she wondered.

"Aliens?" Murray quirked an eyebrow.

"Sure. Aliens crash landed here bout 50 years back. People coming, hoping to see them. It's what keeps this place on the map." Then she walked away.

"Why was I not told of this Colonel O'Neill?" the Jaffa said seriously.

Jack sighed. "It's just a story Murray. No aliens crashed here."

"I see. And this is the source of your amusement?" Murray wondered.

"Yes. No offense, but being here in Roswell with you... well you can almost taste the irony." Daniel explained.

"I believe that was called Blueberry Pie." Teal'c deadpanned.

* * *

><p>They found a hotel in San Antonio that night and visited the Alamo the next morning. Daniel had picked this destination and was playing tour guide again. "On March 6, 1836; 250 American militia faced off against 1,500 trained Mexican soldiers."<p>

"It was a great victory for your people?" Teal'c asked.

"No, actually. It was a crushing defeat. After withstanding a siege and repulsing two attacks, the fort finally fell. Everyone was killed. Including a number of men who were already famous heroes in their day. Davy Crockett and Sam Bowie were among those killed."

"Bowie." O'Neill interjected. "Any relation to...?"

"Yes, he designed the Bowie knife." Daniel answered. Jack looked impressed. Daniel continued, "Bowie was very sick, probably dying already. But they say that even from bed, he took 3 soldiers with him when he died."

"I understand. You honor the place where your heroes fell." Teal'c stated.

"Yes and no. The Alamo was of great strategic importance. Losing it almost cost us the war. But before the Alamo fell, the war hadn't been very popular. After the Alamo fell, men flocked to the cause and the new Texan army pushed the Mexicans back across the Rio Grand. 'Remember the Alamo' became a battle cry for our side."

"Your history is most fascinating Daniel Jackson." Teal'c said.

"I'm glad someone appreciates me. I have some books you can read when we get back if you want to learn more." Daniel replied.

"Indeed."

* * *

><p>A taste of things to come:<p>

A week later:

Colonel Maybourne sat across from his promising new recruit. "If the intelligence you have is as good as you claim. You just go ahead and consider yourself _Captain_ Turner."

Weeks later:

Video footage of this _Slayer_ Captain Turner brought to his attention confirmed that she was indeed a formidable opponent. It also showed the Phenotype of man she was attracted to. They might not be able to come up with a vampire with a soul (whatever that was), but they could certainly come up with some pretty boys with hero complexes. Such men were a dime a dozen in the army. A honey trap operation was in the works and they were already interviewing potential suitors. It would take time. She would be recruited or she would be a subject; but one way or another, she was joining the Initiative.

A/N: The trip through Roswell was entirely unplanned. I put the destinations into Google Maps and the leg to San Antonio just happened to go straight through there. I couldn't pass up the irony. I had a lot of fun writing that part.

The Alamo history is mostly from Wikipedia and my own imagination. Any differences from the facts are my own fault.


	6. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.

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><p><strong>Please review! <strong> Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

I also really like recommendations. They give me a warm feeling inside.

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><p> Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

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><p>Xander didn't go to school after leaving the hospital. He needed some time to get his head together. He and his symbiote took a walk through the park.<p>

% Well now. That was certainly an... interesting response. % Jolinar thought.

/ You're telling me. I feel completely drained. I wasn't this tired after I fought Angel. / Xander answered.

% Have you ever done or felt something like that before? % Jolinar asked.

/ Yeah, ever since I was possessed by a Hyena spirit, I've felt a lot more protective of my pa-. Of my friends. / Xander explained. / But that was a lot more intense than normal. There was some anger that wasn't mine coming from somewhere. /

They were both silent for a moment before Jolinar broke the internal silence. % Would you mind assisting me in a quick experiment? %

/ Maybe. What kind of experiment? / Xander answered.

% It won't hurt a bit. % Jolinar assured him. % I'd just like to observe your responses to different stimuli. %

/ Like what? / Xander was still unsure about being experimented on by an alien. Even, or especially, one living inside him.

% Well, the first step is just for you to think about your friends. Could you do that for me? % Jolinar prompted.

Xander decided that that wasn't so bad and did as he was asked.

% Excellent. Now I'd like you to think about a time when one of your friends was hurt. % Jolinar continued.

Only one thing came to mind when he thought of that. Buffy. Dead. In the Master's cave. A wave of anger washed over him. It wasn't as strong as back at the hospital. He wasn't sure why that was.

% Thank you. Now imagine that you've just been passed over for a promotion because you're a girl. % Jolinar ordered.

Without thinking, his hand lashed out and struck a nearby tree. "Gah!" Xander yelled as he clutched his hand.

% It's broken. I'll have it healed in 2 hours. % Jolinar informed Xander.

/ Why so long? / Xander joked darkly.

% I could do it faster, but I'd need a source of calcium first. If you could find... (Xander had a feeling of vertigo as he felt Jolinar look through some memories) Some soft fish bones would be easy to swallow, or maybe some chicken bones? I see that a tin of canned salmon should provide me with everything I need to make my repairs. % Jolinar observed.

Xander was still holding his hand. / Let me get this straight. I eat a can of salmon and the pain goes away? /

% Oh! So sorry. % Jolinar apologized. The pain suddenly dialed back to a very dull throb. % Just don't jostle it. It's still broken. %

Xander sighed in relief. / One can of salmon coming up. Can I make it into a sandwich? / And started walking home.

% Absolutely. % Jolinar agreed. % Now if we can discuss what led to the broken hand? %

/ Yeah, what happened? All of a sudden I couldn't control myself. Did you do that? / Xander asked.

% No. % Jolinar answered. % I believe it was Captain Carter's memories that did it. It wasn't your anger that caused you to lose control. It was hers. %

/ Nah uh. Not buying it. / Xander disagreed. / I've seen memories of her angry and I never saw her lose it like that. /

% Because she learned to control her anger. Being a female in the US military caused her anger on an almost daily basis. But she learned to channel it. Control you have never needed to learn, until now. % Jolinar explained.

/ Hey! I live on the Hellmouth. I think I have every right to be just as angry as her. / Xander complained.

% You do have every right. Except that you are not angry. I have to say you are disturbingly upbeat for having such a shitty life. In all honesty, I have never had a host with so much reason to be angry without being so. Normally, I would say it was a gift. But if we are to deal with Samantha's anger, your lack of training in dealing with that anger will be a problem. % Jolinar finished as they came upon Xander's house. % Your parents will be gone? %

/ Yeah, no drinking last night means they're going to work today. / Xander explained. / Time to raid the fridge. /

He had to do everything left handed. It wasn't the first time and he was fairly ambidextrous. But it was always a challenge to make a sandwich with only one hand. He was finally able to make and eat one. Then he held still for a few minutes while Jolinar mended his hand. When the Tok'ra was finished. Xander flexed his hand and fingers. It felt great.

/ Thanks. That feels great. / Xander told his other half.

% You are welcome. I am only sorry for my role in causing it. % Jolinar apologized.

/ Hey. We needed to know. No harm done now. And my hand feels great. / Xander comforted him.

% Wonderful. And since you insist on using your hands as weapons, I will strengthen the bones in each of your hands so that this is less likely to occur in the future. % Jolinar informed him.

/ Cool. / Xander thought as he made two more sandwiches using the rest of the salmon in the can. He also finished off all the left overs in the fridge before he started to feel full.

Then it was time to call Giles and Buffy and tell them what he had learned. Willow would be extremely disappointed that he wasn't attending school today, but he had other things to do.

* * *

><p>He went to the cemetery where the military guys were attacked the night before. He collected the weapons dropped on the ground. A sword, a crossbow, an empty handgun, and two stakes. Buffy hadn't bothered to come back and pick up the weapons. <em>Did she think these things grew on trees? Well, <em>he supposed, _the stakes kinda do. But effort was required to craft them into a point. _ Often, his own. Not to mention the cost for swords and crossbows. They certainly couldn't be cheap.

In fact, it occurred to Xander that he was now holding quite a bit of money in his hands. And he now had a moral dilemma _on_ his hands. The weapons didn't belong to him. He didn't need them, but he and Jolinar really needed the money they could get from selling the weapons. The sword especially looked like it might be worth a lot. And who was to say that he and Jolinar couldn't do as much if not more good with the money received from the weapons than the weapons would do in the hands of their original owners?

Jolinar was silent during Xander's internal arguments. Xander decided to take them home for now instead of arguing about it with himself in broad daylight. He automatically closed the slide on the gun and stuffed it down the back of his pants. At least he knew enough not to stuff it down the front of his pants. _Never aim a gun at something you aren't willing to shoot._ The memory came back to him. Female memories were one thing. He didn't want matching anatomy.

He couldn't find the sword's sheath or the crossbow's quiver, but he took the two weapons and walked home as nonchalantly as it was possible to walk with two medieval weapons in broad daylight. Then again, it was Sunnydale, so he wasn't terribly surprised when he got home and no one even noticed him walking around in public with a sword and a crossbow. He shook his head.

He put the sword under the mattress of his pull out bed. He hid the crossbow in his closet under some clothes then pulled out the gun. He recognized it immediately from many memories. A Beretta M9. He sat it on his desk and just looked at it for a moment. Then, fingers moving automatically, he ejected the clip and cleared the breach. He then disassembled the weapon and placed the pieces in front of himself. An old toothbrush and some soap and water were his cleaning agents. Once everything was clean and dry, he went to the garage and found a small can of 3 in 1 oil. It probably wasn't quite what Beretta had in mind as a gun oil, but it would do for now. Cleaned and oiled, he reassembled the weapon. Racked the slide and released it on an empty chamber. Xander also came to a conclusion. There was no way to give this gun back to the US military safely, and they could certainly afford it's loss. He would find a way to sell this and depending on how much he got for that, he would decide what to do about the rest of the weapons.

* * *

><p>They had a briefing first thing the day they got back. Didn't even get a chance to stop by their offices.<p>

"You expect me to believe that vampires and demons are real?" General Hammond asked incredulously.

"No, sir." O'Neill answered.

"Well, that's not what your report says, Colonel. Maybe you care to explain further?" the annoyed general put forward.

"We saw one of these things explode into dust, General. We're all in agreement about what we saw, but we're not in agreement about what they actually are. And for the record, no one expected you to believe that vampires were real. I even tried to get a bet going about whether or not you would believe, but couldn't get any takers." O'Neill stated deadpan.

The general glared at his 2IC for that very literal interpretation of his words. Though he decided he might let himself chuckle about it away from the sarcastic colonel.

Daniel took the floor, "Now, we had a local guide of sorts. Dr. Rupert Giles. His doctorate from Oxford is in, get this, The Occult and Demonology. I didn't even know they had a course like that much less a whole degree field. The background check we ran on him after the fact was a mixed bag. A large number of people we tried to contact about him refused to say anything. We don't know what that means. But the ones who would talk had only good things to say about him. All of those people denied any knowledge of real vampires or demons." Dr. Jackson paused. "Before we went out, he explained the ways to kill a vampire: wood through the heart, decapitation, and sunlight. It was theorized that a staff blast would work as well. But one thing he said that stuck in my mind was that after death, the vampire would turn to dust. And that absolutely happened." There were nods around the room. "I wish we had gotten a sample of that dust, but in the excitement, we forgot. Also, lets not forget Turner and Ferretti's neck wounds and blood loss without almost any blood on their uniforms."

"Yes, I was getting to that. Teal'c you found Major Ferretti and Lieutenant Turner. Did you see any blood on the ground?" Hammond asked.

"As I stated in my report. I found a creature feeding on Major Ferretti and shot him in the back with my staff weapon. The creature turned to dust, just as the one before it had. I carried Major Ferretti and Lieutentant Turner to the hospital for treatment." Teal'c quoted from his report, then added, "It was quite dark but I saw no blood."

"Thank you Teal'c. I was wondering though, how did you find the hospital in a strange town you had never been in before?" Hammond shot a hole right through their cover story.

All eye's turned to Teal'c. The jig might be up very soon and they would all be in it up to their eyeballs. But Teal'c met the general's gaze, "We scouted the town the day before. Dr. Jackson pointed out the town's infirmary as a Hospital."

Hammond gave Teal'c a searching gaze. "I see. Major Ferretti, do you concur?"

"Yes sir." Louis answered. "I don't like to use the word vampire, but a humanoid creature with unusual speed and strength attacked both Turner and me and bit us. A large volume of blood was removed while we were standing without getting any on our uniforms. I realize it seems crazy and I'm not even going to comment on the idea of demons or magic, but... The thing that attacked us was real. And one second I'm dying, the next second I'm choking on dust."

"Very well." The general nodded.

"Speaking of magic." Daniel raised his hand.

"Dr. Jackson." Hammond recognized Daniel had the floor again.

"I had a very... interesting meeting with a young man the day we left. He stated that the intel they had on us was due to magic." Daniel began.

"And you believe him?" the general asked evenly.

"Well I'm not willing to rule it out. Or at least technology so advanced that it might as well be." Dr. Jackson argued.

"Go on." Hammond encouraged.

"It was something he said after he lost control, 'Sometimes I forget you're not military'." Daniel said, looking at Carter.

Carter had been quiet up to then, straightened. "Wait a minute. _I_ said that to you."

"Captain Carter?" General Hammond begged for explanation.

"It was back when we were trying to send Cassandra home." Carter explained. "Daniel and I were discussing making difficult choices."

"So, you did say that?" the general asked.

"Word for word, sir." Carter nodded.

"Now, bear with me. The only thing he wanted to know from me, was whether Captain Carter survived the attack from the Ashrak. Now, I've been thinking about this all the way home. Do you remember PX3-989?"

Carter spoke up. "Harlan made robot versions of us."

"And what else did he do?" Daniel led.

"He transferred our consciousness to the robots." Carter looked horrified. "To the point where they didn't even know they weren't us."

Daniel snapped his finger. "Exactly. What if- what if this boy received Sam's consciousness? Or maybe just memories. He certainly didn't act like Sam. But it explains everything. How her login was used. How he knew the phone number for your direct line, general. Why he would be interested in protecting SG-1 from attack in the first place. And since Sam was still a host to Jolinar at the time of the attack, it explains how he knows a gate address to the Tok'ra that even we don't know about."

Hammond turned to Samantha, "Captain, is that possible?"

"Probably, sir. Harlan did it with machines, but there's no reason why it wouldn't be possible with living tissue, given the right technology." Carter answered.

"Would there be anyway to confirm?"

Sam thought for a moment then blushed. "Embarrassing memories. If he knows things that I've never told anyone, then there's a very good chance that the memories are genuine." Carter refused to look anyone in the eye after that.

General Hammond was concerned. "Do we know for sure that he doesn't still have access to Captain Carter's memories? This is already a major security breach and we need to know that it's not ongoing."

Samantha's blood froze. Could someone still be in her mind? The idea sickened her. And worse, if it were ongoing, she was out of the program, she might even be out of the military. She almost didn't hear Daniel's response of, "No, he genuinely didn't know whether Carter had lived or died. He seemed quite relieved that she was alive. Also, he wouldn't have needed to ask if he still had the connection." Sam almost fainted in relief when she heard that. After Jolinar, she had been depressed, but her reaction to the idea that she might be kicked out of the program had shown her just how much she still loved this job. Also, that someone else had had the same experience as her filled her with hope. She hoped she could one day meet this young man.

Hammond decided not to press the issue now. He was just happy that his Captain was out of bed at last. "Very well. I'm not comfortable leaving anyone with Captain Carter's memories in the hands of the NID, but for now we have no choice. Colonel O'Neill. I want contingency options drawn up for extracting that boy, either before or after he leaves that town. And also if he falls into NID custody."

"Yes, sir. Though, first we have to figure out who he is and find him." Jack answered.

"Well find him then. What do we know about him?" Hammond barked.

Daniel spoke up, "I was the only one who actually talked with him for more than a few seconds. I would say, college age, but we should check the high school first. The login occurred there and Dr. Giles works there as a librarian also they apparently know each other. And his name may start with a Z or an X."

"Very well. Captain Carter, do you feel up to assisting Dr. Jackson with his search?" the general asked gently.

"Yes, sir!" Carter answered enthusiastically.

"Wonderful." He turned to his other team. "SG-2 is currently on stand down pending the official inquiries into the actions of Lieutenant Turner and Major Ferretti. Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c you will also be involved in this."

"The Major, sir?" SG-2's sergeant queried.

The general explained. "Both teams received advice from your local guide, which Colonel O'Neill turned into orders. While Major Ferretti's reason for disobeying orders may or may not have been better than the Lieutenant's, the fact is that he too went against orders. What, if any, action will be taken will be decided at the inquiry."

"It's okay, Sergeant." Ferretti backed his general up. But it was nice that the young man would question a general for him.

When nothing more was said Hammond ended the meeting, "Very well, dismissed." Then he slid a marker over to Dr. Jackson and said with a smile smile and a twinkle in his eye. "Best to be prepared, son."

There were snickers around the table as everyone filed out of the briefing room.

Daniel took it all good naturedly until he got to his office. Markers. Markers everywhere. Black ones, packs of multicolored ones, highlighters and some of those ones that smelled like fruit.

O'Neill stopped behind him and looked over his shoulder. "Guess I know where I'm going when I need to borrow a marker." He then slipped a pack of markers into Daniel's pocket and walked away whistling the chorus of 'Paperback Writer'.

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><p>AN: Paperback Writer by the Beatles. Also don't own.

Don't forget to Review!


	7. Chapter 12

Chapter 12.

A/N: Due to the road trip, SG-1 is about a week ahead of Sunnydale right now. This chapter will catch Sunnydale up a bit.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>If you've never tried to sell something on the black market, you really don't know just how difficult it can be. Especially your first time. You see the black market, even more so than the open market, is based on trust. Trust that the deal is legitimate and trust that your buyerseller isn't working for the police or going to rob or kill you. Thus, when a 17 year old kid walked up to one of the few nefarious humans in Sunnydale, they were less than enthused about doing business with him. Even the evil denizens of Sunnyhell wouldn't give him the time of day. Most weren't interested and others recognized him as a friend of the Slayer and then they really weren't interested. He finally found a buyer willing to give him $500 bucks for the gun and Xander was quite happy. Until the demon took off without taking the gun or giving him the money.

"Hey Xander, what's up?" Buffy asked from behind him.

Xander turned and tucked the gun in the back of his waistband making sure than Buffy never caught a glimpse of the weapon. "Buffy. That was horrible timing."

"You missed school today. And were you talking to a demon?" the Slayer asked.

Xander sighed. "Yes on both counts. I've been trying to get some info on this NID base. I finally found a demon that wasn't scared of talking to me and then you show up." It was half true. He had been asking about the base as well.

Buffy shrugged. "You try Willie yet?"

"You can only squeeze a snitch so many times before it pops. Kinda like a zit." Xander joked.

"Eww. Gross. Thanks for that imagery Xan. Now, the next time I have him in a head lock, I'm going to be worried about popping his head and getting oil on my clothes." Buffy complained with a smirk.

Xander smirked back. "You done patrolling for the night? If you don't mind giving Willie a squeeze, I'll go train with Angel."

"You sure you're up for that?" Buffy looked a little worried.

"Yeah, I needed a day off after that first night, but I had it and I slept a bit today too. I'm good to go." he assured her.

"Okay, just be careful." Buffy ordered.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're okay? Cause otherwise, you're getting worse." Angel made a face.<p>

Xander made a face back. Overall, he _was_ getting worse. He was getting better at doing the moves consciously, but he was finding tapping into Carter's memories harder and less reliable than just two nights ago. "Actually, _I'm_ getting better. The soldier memories I had are fading though."

Angel tried to make another face, but he hadn't let the last one go. "You mean I was fighting the memories of a soldier the other night? Well whoever he was. He was pretty good."

"She _is_ pretty good. _She_ kicked your ass a couple times." Xander smirked.

Angel took a breath and readied a finger to make a point, but the point never came. Even when a normal human would have been gasping for air, Angel just stood there with his mouth open and his finger pointed at the ceiling in a strange parody of a televangelist paused on a TV screen. Finally he put his finger down. "You're right. Her moves are better than Buffy's. With those moves and Buffy's strength and speed... you'd be unstoppable."

Xander was surprised at the compliment but shook his head. "Doubt that. Guns tend to work fairly well on the living. Super powers or no."

They fell into their stances and commenced fighting again.

"What about... weapons training?" Angel asked between blows.

"With what weapons?" Xander countered verbally and physically.

"I have... some quarter... staffs." Angel dodged a punch and a sweep attempt.

"Sure." Xander answered, landing a side kick.

Angel rolled to his feet, when Xander didn't follow up he went for the staffs. Grabbing two, he walked back toward Xander. Instead of throwing him one though, he started attacking with both staffs.

Xander jumped back, "Don't I get one?"

"I don't know. Do you?" Angel smirked.

Xander ducked and weaved around the room as Angel swung the staffs. He soon got inside Angel's guard. He gave the vampire two good body blows before grabbing an arm and performing a Judo throw. But instead of releasing after, he hung on to the arm and twisted; planting a foot on Angel's shoulder so the vampire couldn't spin out of the arm lock.

"Give!" Angel cried.

Xander stopped twisting, but didn't let go. Instead he took the staff that was still in the hand he was twisting. Then he released and stepped back. They were both smirking now. As they fell into staff combat, Xander found that he was able to rely on the memories of Captain Carter more in this type of combat than he currently was in hand to hand. And her memories of staff training and his own and hers in hand to hand and he soon swept Angel off his feet and had the tip of his staff aimed at Angel's chest.

"Not bad." Angel conceded.

"Got any other weapons?" Xander asked.

"I've got some swords." Angel shrugged. "I'll give you a blunted metal one and I'll use a wooden one. We should be pretty safe that way."

Xander didn't do nearly as well with the swords. He had no memories to fall back on and was pretty much making it up as he went. He took a pretty good beating until he finally he had to swallow his pride and ask Angel to show him how to sword fight.

Angel smirked as he won the battle of wills, but did show Xander how to fight with a sword. By the end of the night, Xander knew at least the basic blocks, thrusts, and cuts. He also had a healthy collection of bruises. But at least nothing was broken.

* * *

><p>With his parental units safely passed out in the living room, Xander was able to have another large dinner. The next morning after a large breakfast, he left for school carrying all his weapons. He reached the library before anyone else, he put his weapons in a corner behind his backpack and sat down to read.<p>

Giles was in about 20 minutes later. "Ah, Xander. Good to see you again. We were a bit worried when you didn't show up yesterday."

"I had some other stuff to take care of. Plus SG-1 was already scouting this place out. I figured it was wise to stay away until they had left." Xander explained.

Giles scratched his temple. "Yes, they did stop by. Apparently you made a strong enough impression on them that they agreed to take Buffy out of their reports for now." Xander breathed a sigh of relief before Giles went on, "However, I fear that this will only buy us time in dealing with this issue."

"Time is good." Xander said. "It will give us time to research and if we're lucky, maybe get some resources we can use in this fight. Speaking of which..." Xander got the weapons from behind his backpack. "I have the knowledge needed to build some cool technology, but I have zero money. I was thinking of just selling these, but I decided that Buffy needs them more for now. I don't suppose the Watcher's Council has a finder's fee for returning lost weapons?" Xander set the crossbow and sword on the table.

Giles ignored the crossbow but picked up the sword lovingly. "Well, I might be able to give you a little something for the crossbow. But this, I'm very glad you brought this back. What ever you could get on the street for this wouldn't be enough. I'll see to it you get a reward for returning it Xander, though you'll have to give me time. The reward for this will have to go through the Council." Giles found the sword's sheath in the book cage and locked it away. Then he went to his office. He came back out holding some money. "$60 for returning the crossbow. Good enough?"

Xander nodded and took the money. "Thank you. Then there was something else you might be interested in." Xander said as he took out the Beretta. He showed Giles the empty clip and the empty chamber and put the safety on before he set it on the table.

"What is that?" Giles asked.

"It's a gun. Beretta M9." Xander answered.

"Yes, I can see that. Why do you have it?" Giles expanded his question.

"Found it with the other weapons. Think it's worth about $500, but haven't been able to unload it yet." Xander explained.

Giles mouth tightened. "Very well, I'll give you $300 for it."

"I was hoping for something closer to 5." Xander complained.

Giles snatched up the gun. "Yes, well as a 17 year old boy, 300 is as high as you're going to get from anyone with any intention of paying you." Giles said as he put the gun deep in one of the drawers of his desk. "I'll have the money for you by Friday. Agreed?"

Xander didn't see any real choice, so he just nodded. A newly disarmed Xander sat down to read some more before school started.

"Good lord, what are you reading?" Giles interrupted.

"Some stuff about ancient Egyptian demons." Xander didn't even look up.

"Yes. But you can understand it?" Xander did look up at that. "It's in ancient Egyptian! You can read it?" Giles cried.

Xander looked back down. He had to blink twice before he noticed the hieroglyphics.

% Sorry % Jolinar thought. % I thought it would make it easier. I didn't mean to cause trouble. %

"Umm. Yeah. I guess so." Xander agreed nervously.

"I've been trying to translate that since we met SG-1. Does it say anything in there about Gould or Goa'uld?"

"Not as such, but I can fill in the blanks with what I know about them and the Tok'ra from Halloween." Xander explained.

Xander went on to explain how demons were in control of the Earth. Humans were little more than a nice challenge for demons to hunt. How the Goa'uld landed in Egypt. They took human hosts and then created the Jaffa. Then, using the Jaffa and their superior technology, they drove the demons from the Earth. They took most of the people in the area as slaves, but that was actually a step up in the food chain for them. The Goa'uld taught the people farming, road building, irrigation, writing, math, and astronomy. It was actually a pretty good deal for the humans. But after a few generations as more and more of their number were carried through the Stargate never to be seen again, the humans rebelled and forced Ra to leave. They buried their Stargate so that the old gods could not return.

Xander then filled in the blanks that the book didn't cover. That on a dig in Egypt, the Stargate was dug up and activated. And how Colonel O'Neill had blown up Ra and humans from earth were now exploring the galaxy.

"You mentioned something about a Tok'ra. What is that?" Giles asked.

"That's the alien that I went as for Halloween. Tok'ra literally means 'Against Ra'. Ra was the most powerful of all the Goa'uld. They are the Goa'uld resistance." Xander explained.

"And they're a third species?" Giles wondered.

"No, technically, they are the same species as any Goa'uld. But they choose another path. They still require hosts like them, but they only take theirs willingly." Xander stated.

"Willingly? Good lord. Who would do such a thing?" Giles harrumphed.

Xander could feel Jolinar's annoyance at Giles' words. He sent calming thoughts to his new friend before he went on. "Well, there's many reasons to agree to be a host. Long life, near perfect health, seeing sights that you could never imagine. But the biggest draw would probably be the knowledge. Goa'uld and by extension, Tok'ra have genetic memory. When you become a host, you get the knowledge of your symbiote and the combined knowledge of all their previous hosts. It's a pretty sweet deal."

"Knowledge you say?" Giles was suddenly intrigued.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Dozens of ancient languages." Xander teased. "But unless we wrest control of the Stargate away from the military, the odds of anyone meeting one are slim." It wasn't a lie. Taking into account all the people on Earth, the odds of meeting Xander and Jolinar were slim indeed.

* * *

><p>Xander was bored. Things that used to be a challenge for him were barely worth a second glance. He had finished his math homework while the teacher had explained the concepts to everyone but him. He stared out the window and tried to think about what he'd do about SG-1 and the NID. Suddenly he felt his lips move. "42." they said.<p>

/ Thanks for covering for me. / Xander thought. / What was the question? /

% She asked what the answer was. % Jolinar thought back.

/ But what was the question? / Xander asked again.

% Life, the Universe, Everything. % Jolinar answered.

They were silent for a moment. / You're kidding me. / Xander asked in shock.

He felt laughter and mirth coming from his symbiote. % Of course. It was an algebra problem. %

Xander started shaking with silent laughter. The teacher thought he was coughing and sent him to the nurses' office. / You are the best symbiote... ever! / Xander complimented his partner and he laughed out loud in the empty hallway. He stopped and looked where he was. He turned away from the nurses' office and headed for the library. He could kill some time there before lunch. / I can't believe you've read Douglas Adams. /

% Technically, you've read Douglas Adams. I viewed it through your memories. % Jolinar explained.

When he got there, Giles was polishing the sword he brought back. "How goes it?" Xander asked.

"Yes. Well it... goes." the librarian answered. "Is there a reason you're here or are you just skipping class?"

Xander almost started to explain how Jolinar had told him a joke, but stopped himself at the last second. "I had a coughing fit and the teacher sent me to the nurses' office."

"But you're okay, so you came here instead?" Giles finished.

"Just some saliva down the wrong pipe. Can you teach me how to sword fight?" Xander asked seeing Giles put the sword away.

"I'm afraid you'd beat me handily. What about Angel?" Giles countered.

"No memories of sword fighting. I don't think I even touched him once." Xander complained.

"As long as you've got some free time, I don't see why I can't teach you the basics." So from then until lunch. Giles taught Xander how to sword fight. His methods were completely different than Angel's. Xander never received a hit from Giles. He also thought he learned a lot more from Giles than he did from Angel.

But by lunch time, Xander was starving. A normal school lunch barely took the edge off.

/ Jolinar? / Xander asked.

% Yes? % Jolinar responded.

/ How close are you to being... done? Rebuilt? Whatever? / Xander continued.

% I am quite close. Three or four more large meals and I should be done. % Jolinar answered.

/ Could you turn down the hunger for now? I'm starving and there's not going to be another chance to eat until after school. / Xander begged.

Xander found himself getting very full without taking another bite. % Sorry about that. Without it on though, it will take much longer for me to finish. % Jolinar explained.

/ Turn it back on after school. We've got money and I'm taking you to the all-you-can-eat buffet tonight. / Xander told him. / We might be able to finish you up tonight. /

% I would appreciate that. % Jolinar stated.

* * *

><p>English class wasn't any more exciting than any of his other classes. However this class did have Cordelia Chase, who was nice to look at, funny to listen to, and fun to mock. It probably would have been funnier if she hadn't been serious or if she had understood that she was being mocked.<p>

After class, Xander wasn't paying close attention as the girls talked about relationships or something.

"Xander, did Angel have any visitors while you were there?" Buffy asked.

"No. Why?" Xander wondered.

"Angel was with a girl last night." Willow explained.

"Willow, do we have to be in total share mode?" Buffy complained.

"Why didn't you say anything last night?" Xander asked concerned.

Buffy shrugged. "It's not a big deal. He was just talking to a girl. A really pretty girl." Buffy frowned and crossed her arms.

"Hey, I can ask him about it tonight, if you like?" Xander offered as they entered the lounge.

"Really?" Buffy brightened for a moment then slouched again. "No. I can't have him thinking I was checking up on him."

"But-" Xander started.

But Willow stopped him, "It's girl-logic. Just accept it." She advised as she sat down and Xander sat next to her.

"Yeah." a voice said from behind Buffy, "I found out myself that there's no accounting for girl-logic."

"Oh my god! Ford?" Buffy shrieked.

"Hey, Summers!" Ford responded.

After hugs, Buffy introduced Billy Fordham to Willow and Xander. Xander knew that he still had a crush on Buffy and yet, he couldn't feel jealous of how close Buffy and Ford were right now.

% You are recognizing that he is not a competitor for Buffy's romantic interest. Neither are showing any signs of being attracted to each other. % Jolinar pronounced.

/ Well that's... good. I guess. / Xander decided.

% Perhaps. % Jolinar was silent for a moment.

/ What's wrong? / Xander asked.

% Buffy is a stunning woman. % Jolinar observed.

/ I noticed. / Xander said wryly.

% Yes, but Ford does not. % Jolinar observed. % It is similar to the way that you do not see that Willow is a beautiful woman as well. %

/ Willow? Willow isn't a woman. She's... Willow! / Xander shouted in his head.

% She's both. % Jolinar told him with a mental shrug.

"...and I'll see you guys in French!" Buffy says as she escorts Ford away.

/ Aww, crap. What'd we miss? / Xander asked his symbiote.

% We missed nothing. I recorded the conversation for you to view later. % Jolinar consoled him.

Willow spoke up, "Oh, that's what that song is about?!"

* * *

><p>After school, Xander skipped hanging out in the Library and instead headed straight for the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Jolinar steered him away from his favorite meat dishes. Protein contained less energy per pound than fats and was harder to process than carbohydrates. Chow mein, rice, noodles, and anything fried like pot stickers and egg rolls were piled on every plate. He also picked out one meat dish each time up to keep things interesting. Jolinar was also particularly impressed with the caloric content of cream cheese wontons and insisted on getting a few every trip. Jolinar also insisted on grabbing up some particularly fatty pieces of beef that all the other patrons had been avoiding. He claimed that there was a lot of energy in them. Xander took his word for it and dutifully swallowed.<p>

Xander lost count of how many drinks they got but he was pretty sure that they had eaten around eight plates of food. He sure hoped Jolinar had gotten enough to eat, because the owner of the restaurant was eying him rather like he eyed Buffy right before he banned her from eating here again.

/ Jo, I think it's time to split. / Xander thought.

Jolinar was silent for a moment. % I understand. We will need to locate a suitable new host for me and then I will leave. %

/ What? No! I mean we need to leave the restaurant. The owner is giving us the stink-eye. / Xander clarified.

% Oh! Yes, then. Let us leave then. This has been most satisfying. % Jolinar announced.

* * *

><p>After hanging at the Bronze for a couple hours, Buffy left to escort Ford home and then patrol, while Xander and Angel walked Willow home. Angel asked Willow to find anything she could on Billy Fordman and he'd stop by the next night to pick it up. After which Xander and Angel walked to Angel's place.<p>

Sparring was rough that night. Xander was determined to do this on his own, without the help of Carter's memories.

"Are you sure you want to keep doing this?" Angel asked.

Xander was panting and dripping with sweat. He just nodded and grabbed a drink of water. "Let's go." He motioned to continue the bout.

An hour later, Xander sat on a chair catching his breath. "That enough for tonight?" Angel asked as he rolled his shoulder. Xander had gotten him that last round. He had to give it to the kid, he was tenacious. When he had first started fighting him, his form was perfect and even with Angel's speed, he found it hard to get inside Xander's defenses. Now, Xander's form was... well it was still there, but it was slow. Angel found it much easier getting inside the kid's defense. But it didn't seem to matter. Xander just never let up. Eventually Xander got his hits in. And he _was_ improving. His speed was coming back. Angel could see the difference just from the start of tonight's bout to the end. Xander was faster, in spite of how tired he could see the kid was. He shook his head. "Come on. Let's get you home." he told him.

Xander shook his head. "No. Swords first." he insisted.

Angel sighed and got the swords out. "Okay. If you insist. I just don't want Buffy yelling at me that I'm pushing you too hard." Angel said. A half hour of forms and instruction before they started sparring again. Angel was surprised that Xander seemed so fresh after such a short rest. And not only did he use everything Angel had taught him in two nights, but he also seemed to use other moves. Some were wild and obviously made up, but some where controlled and precise. Angel certainly maintained control of the fights, and only hit Xander enough to show him that Angel was in control. But Xander did get in some hits too. One to his hamstring certainly would have eventually been fatal. Angel smirked. If Xander had come this far in two days, he would be a formidable opponent in a few months. He hadn't had a worthy opponent to fence against since he had been turned. As Liam, he had been had been a fine swordsman in his day. Probably the only thing he loved in life besides his little sister and alcohol. Angelus had played with swords here and there, but no human could match him. He had too much talent and speed. And Angel just never got the chance.

"So, what did you and Buffy talk about before she left?" Xander broke Angel from his thoughts.

"Oh, she just wondered what I did the night before." Angel answered.

"And what did you tell her?" Harris continued.

"That we trained. Nothing else happened." Angel insisted.

"You didn't tell her about the pretty lady you talked to?" Xander raised an eyebrow.

"She knows about that?" Angel stopped fighting.

"Oh yeah." Xander nodded. "And I don't pretend to be an expert on women, but lying to one about talking to another pretty girl... that's a big no-no." Xander thought about what he just said. He wasn't an expert on women, but he did have the memories of one and an alien who had been hosted by several women. He wondered if he might look through their memories and become the first man in history to actually understand women. Forget defeating the Goa'uld. Understanding women would put him in the annals of history. After that, saving the world would just be a foot note.

"So, what do I do?" Angel looked pensive.

"Come clean. Sooner rather than later. And don't tell her you know she knows. It's better if she thinks you are coming clean on your own. Mutcho points there. But you lose them if she knows that you know she knows, you know?" Xander told him.

"So I should lie?" Angel clarified.

"Nooo. You tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But only the part of the truth that she want's to know about." Xander explained. It was pretty much exactly what he had done with his friends so far. And that had turned out okay, right?

"Okay. I'll go right now." Angel decided.

"It's a bit late. Or early depending on how you look at it. She's probably asleep." Xander reasoned.

"I suppose. She's probably asleep. Don't know how you kids operate on so little sleep. I get cranky if I don't get my full ten hours." Angel admitted.

Xander shrugged. "Kids are tough. I'll see you tomorrow night. We'll find out what Willow found on Ford."

"Yeah." Angel agreed. "You want me to walk you home?"

"No. I'll be fine." Xander held up one of his stakes. "Besides, that's what this training is for. Isn't it?"

* * *

><p> Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. / Xander thought to himself. / Pride at not wanting Angel to walk me home like a little kid is going to get me killed. /

% Get _us_ killed you mean. I am not yet fully recovered. I doubt I will survive your death. _Now, focus! _% Jolinar commanded. % You have beaten Angel many times. And killed other vampires. %

/ Angel wasn't- / Xander dogged a kick. / ...actually trying to kill me. I'm tired and this is no fledgeling. /

"Oof." Xander made a sound as all the air was driven from his lungs. The vampire tackled him to the ground and straddled him. Xander wanted desperately to tell him that he was a friend of the Slayer and that he would regret killing him, but his lungs refused to work. Instead, he put all his energy into fighting off the demon sitting on his chest. Punching, hitting, and just plain holding him at arms length. But the vampire was too strong. Easily batting his arms away. Time slowed almost to a standstill as the vampire bent towards his neck.

/ Help me! / Xander begged his symbiote.

% I am too weak to take control. % Jolinar answered.

/ I didn't say take control. I said help me. Both of us. Together! / Xander explained desperately.

% That's not possible. % Jolinar responded. % Only one can be in control of the host body at any given time. %

/ Time to test that theory. If you're right, we die. On three. / Xander stated. The vampire lunged forward. / _**Three!**_ / Xander shouted and pushed.

Jolinar focused on something only once before attempted to his knowledge. Pushing himself and his strength forward while _not_ pushing the host out. He wasn't even sure if his weakened state would be a help or a hindrance. He had less power right now, which would make it easier to not push the host out. But he was unfamiliar with using power at this level, which made it difficult to control. He could hear Xander shouting 'Three' but he ignored it. This was going to take his full concentration. He pushed gently, and pushed just a little bit more, but he felt the host slipping.

Xander felt himself slipping away. _This was it. This was the end. _Ever since he met Buffy, he figured he'd go down this way. He wondered if they'd bury him next to wondered if Tony would show up sober for the funeral.

Jolinar felt the host sliding back and he was now in charge of the body. But he was not at his full strength and too weak. He pushed against the vampire to no avail.

No. Xander Harris was not going down to one lousy vampire. He started pushing back.

And then something just clicked. They felt sharp teeth tearing at their neck. They smelled the fetid breath of the vampire and the rich, loamy smell of freshly turned dirt. They let their eyes glow bright and their power flow. Suddenly the weight was lifted from their chest as the vampire was thrown up and away; into a mausoleum. They looked around for Buffy or Angel or whoever had thrown the vamp off them. But there was no one there but their own two hands.

"Who are you?" asked the vamp as they both stood up.

#"I'm Batman!"# they said and let their eyes grow bright again.

The vampire had a very confused look on his face. Right up until the point he turned to dust. They weren't even sure if the vampire had been frozen in place in shock or if they had moved so fast that the leech hadn't had time to react. But here wasn't the place to wonder about such things. They sprinted home. Only stopping once they were safely inside.


	8. Chapter 13

Chapter 13.

A/N: Due to the road trip, SG-1 is about a week ahead of Sunnydale right now. This chapter will catch Sunnydale up a bit.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

* * *

><p>Okay, now that they were safe, they had time to freak out. There should be some shouting going on inside their head... but there was nothing.<p>

"Where are you? Why can't I hear you?" Xander had grown very accustomed to the presence of the symbiote after only a few days.

"I'm here." Jolinar answered.

"You don't sound like you."

"No. I sound like you."

"What the hell happened?"

"If seems that we have communal control of your body." Jolinar explained. "Now remember the first rule. Stop Panicking."

Xander's body started taking slower, deeper breaths. "Okay. What happened?" Xander asked.

"We seem to have become one." Jolinar answered.

Xander was extremely glad that it was so late and no one was here to see him talking to himself. "What does that mean?"

"Okay, this is going to be complicated. So please just let me explain everything before you ask any more questions." When no sound was made, Jolinar continued. "The Tok'ra think of a symbiotic pair as two separate entities. There is the host and there is the symbiote. Now by any impartial standard, a symbiote in control of a host is superior in almost all physical aspects. Strength, speed, intelligence, et cetera. Now, the Goa'uld believe that this makes them gods. They take over a host and believe that the host does not matter. The Tok'ra believe that the host has the right to exist along side the symbiote. But it's more like a timeshare than a partnership. When we first came to this planet, a Goa'uld named Nun who's Unas host had been injured to the point of death, took a human as host. The danger had not passed and they were forced to fight, together, against a formidable foe. They became one. However, they could not communicate with each other and they soon fought themselves. Nun was victorious and his host slipped into oblivion. I know this because Nun was the father of most of the current system lords. As well as Egeria, the mother of most of the Tok'ra. Since that time, no one has ever attempted what we just accomplished. Nun almost died in the internal struggle for power and Goa'uld would rather dominate their hosts anyway. Even if the risks weren't great, the Tok'ra wouldn't like it as it leaves no way to communicate with each other except for external communication. They love their secrets too much to say everything out loud for the world to hear."

When it had been silent for a while, Xander asked, "So what's the bottom line?"

"Well in this form, we are faster, stronger and smarter than either of us individually. Two people working together are actually more effective than two people working individually. Though there have only been three recorded times they have been forced to fight in hand-to-hand combat, Tok'ra are superior to Goa'uld in this. And it's not because we train harder. But instead because we do not have to fight against our hosts. Keeping their host suppressed is not an energy output Tok'ra must worry about. But this form has dangers. Nun almost died in his battle with his host. I do not know if we can be the way we used to be." Jolinar elaborated.

"Well it's either that or the loony bin." Xander half-joked.

"Fine. But tomorrow. We'll have to have someone we can trust nearby in case something goes wrong."

"K." They changed and laid down to go to sleep. But sleep would not come.

* * *

><p>"That's it. I can't sleep." Xander declared a few hours later. A sigh that he didn't make greeted him.<p>

"Maybe we could if you stopped moving your legs." Jolinar retorted.

"That wasn't me. That was you." Xander accused.

Jolinar sighed again. "Tell you what. If you can't lie still. Why don't we go out vampire hunting?"

"Well, if it's a choice between lying in my bed and getting eaten, I'm going to have to go with staying right here." Xander snarked.

"Why? Like this we are faster, stronger, smarter and better trained than any vampire." Jolinar insisted. "Don't you remember killing that vampire so easily just a few hours ago?"

"I remember almost being eaten and being scared out of my mind." Xander rebuked.

"And I remember telling that vampire that we were 'Batman' not long after that." Jolinar swung their legs out of bed.

"Fine. But if we die, I'm going to kill you." Xander said as they put on their clothes and armed themselves with stakes.

* * *

><p>Xander couldn't believe this. After more than a year fighting vampires that were faster and stronger than him. Fighting them on equal terms, or an advantage, was a nice change of pace. The vampires also seemed surprised. One thought he was a new (male) Slayer. Two thought he was Angel. He set them right very painfully before he killed them. He was already up to ten kills in one night when he heard more approaching.<p>

"I'm telling you. It's perfectly safe. The Slayer doesn't patrol after 2 AM, ever. It's almost 4 o'clock. The pickings are slimmer, but it's completely safe to be out right now." one vampire said to another.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Xander said as he stepped out of the bushes and flashed his eyes. Three vampires stopped in their tracks. "It's dangerous to be out at night around here." He said as he spun a stake.

"The Slayer!" one of the vamps shouted.

Another one slapped that vampire across the back of his head. "The Slayer is a girl, you idiot." It was the voice of the first vampire they had heard. He turned back to Xander. "And his heart is beating, which means it's not Angel. Get 'im boys."

The three vampires attacked at once. Xander found himself on the defensive for the first time that night. 3-on-1 odds are hard to beat when everyone is superpowered. "Any suggestions?" he shouted to his other half.

Jolinar looked around. "The tree." he said and ran towards a large pine. He pulled a branch back with him as he passed. This did two things, it allowed him to use his momentum to slingshot around the tree with great force where he staked the surprised vamp coming for him on the other side and when he released, the branch slapped the face of the vamp right behind him, who's head snapped back into the mouth of the vampire behind him. They jumped on the first vamp and staked him before he could rise. But the second vamp was able to find his feet.

The vampire hissed at them. "You're head."

"What?" Xander asked.

"I think he meant 'you're dead'." Jolinar answered.

"I know what he meant. But what's he going to do? Gum us to death?" Xander laughed.

"Are'u cazy?" the somewhat toothless vampire asked.

"Probably." Xander answered as he put the demon out of its misery. They rubbed their thigh where a kick had landed and limped away from the trees. "Oww. Remind me that 3-on-1 odds aren't something I want to try again."

"3-on-1 odds aren't something we want to try again." Jolinar deadpanned.

"Oh goody. A Tok'ra with a sense of humor." Xander snarked.

"I don't know if we should be called Tok'ra any more. It's no longer a 'Timeshare' relationship. It's far closer to a marriage. Probably beyond marriage as we are truly 'one flesh'. I've been trying to think up a new name for us." Jolinar said as they walked.

Xander was limping less and less as his soreness faded. "Something to do with Nun, since he was the first to do this?"

"No. I don't want to be associated with that... person. I was thinking 'Al'tok'taur'" Jolinar offered

"What does that mean?"

"Batman." Jolinar laughed long and hard. They had to stop walking and lean against a streetlamp for a bit while Jolinar finished laughing. "Actually, it means 'Flying mouse man', but it's as close as I could get in Goa'uld." He laughed some more. "You know. It really wasn't that funny of a joke." Jolinar said between laughs. "Why are we still laughing?"

"I don't know." Xander wheezed. "The last time I laughed like this was... the hyena."

"We should probably go home." Jolinar took a deep breath to sober up and started walking back.

"We should go see Giles." Xander turned their body around and started walking back.

"Home is closer and safer. You haven't told Giles about us." Jolinar turned and walked back.

"Xander started walking backwards. "Except that I recognize that laughter. Yeah. Mom, dad? I was possessed by a hyena a while ago and it's back. Oh yeah, I'm possessed by an alien and an astrophysicist soldier too."

"Giles won't be happy about you withholding my existence." Jolinar started walking forward.

Xander turned left instead of turning around.

"Now what are you doing?" Jolinar asked but didn't change their direction.

"Buffy's house is closest. I don't feel like having this argument in the middle of the street." Xander explained.

Jolinar sighed and took another left turn when they reached the other side of the street. "Fine, we'll go to Giles' place. When he yells at us. Don't say I didn't warn you."

From the bushes nearby, a vampire watched the strange, glowing-eyed, schizophrenic, male Slayer as he finally stopped arguing and dancing with himself and left the area. The vamp let out a breath he had been holding for over 20 minutes and slunk back to the sewers.

* * *

><p>"Oh, bloody hell." Giles grumbled as he heaved himself out of bed. "This had better be important." as he walked to the door of his flat and opened the door. "Xander?"<p>

Xander stepped across the threshold before asking, "Can we come in?"

Giles blinked heavily and tried to turn on his brain. "Umm... yes. Do come in. Would you like some- Why are you here at 5 AM Xander?" Giles' manners failed him at this too early hour.

"Sorry. I can crash on your couch until you're more awake, but I kinda got possessed again. Need your help to straighten it out." Xander answered. "Oh and if you have some food. We're really hungry. Like, 'Buffy hungry'."

"Good Lord. You'll eat my out of house and home." Giles went to the kitchen then added calmly, "And the fact that you are repossessed is worrying as well." as he got out a box of snacks he kept on hand for Buffy. High protein content seemed to help keep her from eating everything else in his flat.

"Giles made a funny." Xander quipped.

"How very droll." Jolinar griped. "Are you going to help us or not?"

Xander cringed, "Sorry Giles."

"Help 'Us'? That doesn't sound like the hyena." Giles observed.

"We were laughing uncontrollably a few minutes ago. Xander thinks it's the hyena." Jolinar explained.

"Oh, 'Xander thinks' so? What exactly is going on?" Giles tensed.

"Giles! Relax. I'm still here too. It's just complicated." Xander said with a full mouth as he munched on a protein bar.

"Yes, I rather doubt any possessor of your body could fake your manners." Giles gave a small dig.

"Thank- Hey!" Xander said and sprayed protein bar chunks over Giles' coffee table.

Giles sighed and got some paper towels. "I'll take that as proof that part of you is still in there." he said as he started cleaning the sticky chunks.

"All of me is here. The problem is that all of some others are here too. Remember those alien memories I had?" Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose in anticipation of the coming headache. Xander continued, "Well, it seems like it was a bit more than memories. He's real. We've been talking since SG-1 came to town."

"So, you want me to exorcize him?" Giles asked.

"NO!" Xander and Jolinar both answered. Xander continued. "He's one of the good guys. Once he's well, he'd move on if I asked him, but I'm not going to ask him. Okay, let me explain it. Since Jolinar came back, we can each take control of my body, one at a time, me more than him since he's weak right now. But, we were walking home tonight and got attacked by a vamp. Now we're both in control and I think the Hyena is here too. Captain Carter might be here, but it's hard to tell. Anyway, normally we can think to each other and hear what the others are thinking, but right now, there's nothing. And we're both in control of my body. We were pacing up and down the sidewalk for a while as we each changed directions"

"Xander, how can you be sure he's one of the good guys?" Giles reasoned.

"I've seen his memories, Giles. It's hard to fake over 100 years of fighting evil on a galactic scale." Xander explained.

"Yes, well, we only have your word for that." Rupert disagreed.

"_Mister_ Giles! Could you please focus on the problem? Once we are separated, you can question us to your heart's content." Jolinar stood up. "We're going home."

"No." Xander replied and dropped back onto the couch.

After another round of up and down, Giles interrupted. "One of you is over a hundred years old. Please act your age and stop jumping on the furniture." Giles dropped his head into his hands as the jumping ceased. "Very well. Do we know anything about this possession that we can start with?"

Jolinar explained the same history he had already explained to Xander. Only leaving out how much the Tok'ra liked secrets. A fact not lost on Xander, though he kept silent.

"Very well, Nun is an Egyptian deity. I have a few books here we can start with and some more at the library. You... all can get some rest. It sounds like you had a busy night." Giles said gently.

Xander and/or Jolinar shook their head. "Can't sleep. Besides, we can read and speak the languages better than you." Xander wasn't sure he'd be able to read the languages like this, but was soon proven wrong when Giles placed a book in front of them.

After 2 hours of reading every book Giles thought might apply to this situation and correcting Giles' atrocious pronunciation and passable translations, it was time to go to school. They each showered in turn, but Xander was forced to put his dirty clothes back on instead of accepting anything out of Giles closet. Jolinar didn't have a strong opinion on the style of clothes, but wanted fresh ones. In the end, Xander had to go home for more clothes before school as a compromise and would meet Giles in the library.

Xander got there and Giles was stacking books on the table while Willow was reading something. "Hey Wills."

"Hey Xander! Oh, I got that info on Ford you and Angel wanted." Willow gushed.

"Huh?" It had been such a long night. He had completely forgotten about Ford. It seemed like such a small thing now.

"Oh, yes. I remember. What did you find on Billy Fordham?" Jolinar asked.

"Well. He's not actually- Xander, are you okay?" Willow changed frowned and subjects in the middle of the sentence.

"Of course he's not Xander. There's only one Xander. Accept no substitutes." Xander quipped. "Now, what about Ford?"

"Oh. He's not enrolled. Not only that. He almost doesn't exist. I found one address for him in the warehouse district. That's it." Willow explained.

"Hmm. Interesting. Thanks Willow." Xander said appreciatively.

"So what are we researching today?" Willow asked. "Giles said it had something to do with Ancient Egyptian Gods?"

"Yeah. About that. I guess it's time for you guys to meet. Try not to freak out." Then under his breath, "do your thing Jo."

Jolinar straightened Xander's posture, let his eyes flash briefly, then said in his Tok'ra voice, #"Greetings. I am Jolinar of Malkshur. I am pleased to meet you."#

Willow squeaked and clutched a book to her chest. Giles let out a soft "Good Lord."

"Willow! Willow. It's okay. I'm still here too." Xander assured his friend.

"Xander?" Willow cried.

"It's okay. Will. Jolinar and I are just sharing the same body. But I'm still me." Xander assured her again.

"How do I know it's you?" Willow asked weakly.

"Tell you what. If you see me, but I'm using proper sentence structure, that's Jolinar." Xander smiled.

Willow gave a weak smile and relaxed the death grip she had on her book. Giles gave a soft chortle to agree with Xander's assessment of his English skills.

"Okay, so here's what happened." Xander began, but let Jolinar take over the explanation of what had happened that night. Buffy walked in as he was finishing.

"Hey guys. You're up early." Buffy smiled. Then looked at Xander and dropped into a fighting stance.

Xander responded by jumping back into a defensive stance. Hands out and open in front of him. "Buffy." he said calmly, "take it easy. Let me explain."

"He's got one of those Ghouls in him Giles." Buffy told her watcher.

To Xander's relief, Giles stepped between the pair. "He's not going anywhere Buffy. Why don't we all sit down and talk about this?"

"Tok'ra actually." Xander explained. "Think of it like Angel. They're Goa'uld that fight the bad Goa'uld."

"So, they're Ghould with a soul?" Buffy queried.

"If that's the way you want to think about it, then yes." Jolinar agreed rather stiffly.

Buffy relaxed and Xander followed suit. Though they approached each other cautiously. Buffy slapped his arm almost before he could react. "What the hell, Xander?"

"Umm... Sorry?" Xander shrugged and rubbed the newly sore spot the Slayer had hit him.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

Jolinar was about to launch into his explanation again when Xander cut him off. "Halloween."

"I thought that was just memories?" Buffy complained.

"I thought so too, but a part of him remained and has almost re-grown." Xander explained.

Buffy sighed. "Okay. But you have to sit at the other end of the table. It's wiggy being this close to you."

"I don't feel a thing." Xander shrugged.

"Yeah, well I do." Jolinar disagreed.

"Oh yeah. Introductions." Xander nodded.

Again, Jolinar straightened Xander's posture, let his eyes flash briefly, then said in his Tok'ra voice, #"Greetings. I am Jolinar of Malkshur. I am pleased to meet you."#

Willow was a lot less freaked the second time. Giles showed no reaction. Buffy frowned and cocked her head. "What was that?"

Jolinar answered still using the Tok'ra voice. #"This is the voice the Goa'uld use to prove that they are gods. The Tok'ra use it to more easily differentiate between host and symbiote."#

"You don't need the voice. You said 'differentiate' and 'symbi- something or rather'. That's proof enough for me."

Jolinar smiled, but Xander replaced it with a wry frown. "Every one's a critic." Honestly, Xander was happy that everything had gone so smoothly. Thing could have gone a lot worse this morning.

The air in the room relaxed a bit as three of them fell to researching and Buffy went to go find Xander a 'Buffy sized' breakfast.

* * *

><p>Classes were... a challenge. Jolinar stayed thankfully quiet most of the day. But Xander had been up for more than 24 hours now and was getting more and more tired as the day went on. Add in that he knew most of the subjects as well if not better than most of the teachers now and Xander got in trouble several times for not paying attention. After classes were over, the four Scoobies met in the library to discuss the results of the research.<p>

"I really don't think this will work Giles. We argued most of the night and nothing happened." Xander argued.

"I understand. But neither of you were likely trying to take complete control. And what I've read of what happened to Nun, that was how this was broken. There may be other ways, yes. But we know that this way likely works, so let's try it first. If that doesn't work, then we can try... other methods." Giles explained. He left out what those other methods might be.

"Alright, fine. Jo, you just step back and I'll take control and then this will all be done." Xander told his partner.

"Me step back? I'm the one who knows how to take control. You step back and I will end this." Jolinar disagreed.

"No, you step back. This is MY body." Xander yelled.

#"And I am the symbiote. This is MY job."# Jolinar slipped into Tok'ra voice.

The other three in the library watched in silence as Xander's face grew red. Veins on his neck and clenched fists stood out. His teeth ground together audibly. Finally, he went limp and fell to the floor. Buffy was quick enough to catch his head before it hit, but she backed away again quickly.

"Xander!" Willow cried in panic.

"It's alright Willow. I had expected something like this." Giles explained.

"Care to let the rest of us know?" Willow yelled uncharacteristically at the librarian.

"Well I wasn't sure." Giles explained, "they've been up for a long time. They are likely quite exhausted."

A groan came from the prone Xander. "Unng."

"Xander?" Willow grabbed his hand.

Xander didn't open his eyes but did smile. "I won Wills."

"And Jolinar?" Giles prompted.

Jolinar dropped the smile and replied in his deep voice, #"I am still here. A bit disappointed in myself. And I must apologize for any aggressive actions I made today. Xander says that may be the influence of a hyena spirit."#

Xander opened his eyes. "I was going to say that..." He sighed and reached a hand up, "Help me up?" Giles helped him to his feet. "Okay, I am going to bed."

"Wait! What about Ford?" Willow cried.

"Ford?" Buffy was caught off guard. "What about Ford?" Buffy narrowed her gaze onto Willow.

Willow didn't meet Buffy's eyes. "No! Not _Ford,_ Ford. I meant _the_ Ford. Like in the car that Xander promised to show me today. After school. Not right away, because it's not here. It's elsewhere." Willow babbled.

"Xander?" Buffy narrowed her gaze on the poor boy.

Xander opened his mouth to answer, but Jolinar cut in, in Tok'ra voice. #"My apologies. You friend Angel was concerned that the boy was not being truthful. And with good reason it turned out. Ford is not enrolled in this school as he claimed. His father was not transferred here either."#

"What?" Buffy said disbelievingly. "Why would he lie about that? It doesn't make any sense."

"I'm sorry Buffy. I can show you the school records from here. Ford's not in them." Willow said as quietly as possible. As if being quieter would spare her friend's feelings. Then hurriedly, "It doesn't mean anything bad by itself. Maybe he just wanted to see you?"

Buffy scowled. "This is the Hellmouth. Everyone who believes that, please raise your hand." When no one made a move she continued, "Okay, let's check out this address tonight. Xander, are you... two up for scouting tonight?"

#"Forgive us, Miss Summers. But we are in need of rest tonight. Perhaps your friend Angel would be able to accompany you instead?"# Jolinar answered with his deep voice.

"Okay, could you turn the voice off now? And why didn't Xander answer?" Buffy demanded.

"There." Jolinar answered with Xander's normal voice, "And Xander was exhausted. He is already asleep."

"He's asleep but you're awake?" Buffy asked.

"Yes. It's not done much, the body and mind both need rest and a period of sleep is a convenient way to accomplish that for both of us in one shot. But it does come in handy sometimes." Jolinar explained.

"Yes, there are a number of species of aquatic mammals that sleep with only half their brains at a time." Giles added.

"So, Xander won't mind if we take Angel while he sleeps? Does that mean that Xander and Angel are getting along now?" Buffy wondered.

"They're pummeling each other half to death each night. But they are trading fewer verbal barbs. I wouldn't say they like each other, but perhaps a grudging respect. I have observed this reaction before, but never from within one of my hosts." Jolinar stated.

"Tok'ra don't fight? That must be nice." Willow said.

Jolinar shrugged. "We fight sometimes, but less than humans. Also, I've been female most of my life. The sum total of my time in male hosts would be fewer than four months."

"You're a girl?" Willow said excitedly.

"A Tok'ra takes the gender of the host. So, in Xander, I am male. However, I have lived several hundred years in female hosts. So, I can relate to women quite well." Jolinar explained. "Now, I must take my leave. Thank you all for your help, and good night."


	9. Chapter 14

Chapter 14.

A/N: Due to the road trip, SG-1 is somewhere near the Grand Canyon right now. We will see more of them once Buffy and the gang catch up.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p>After Jolinar had taken Xander home, Buffy gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh my god! I'm supposed to show Ford around town tonight. What am I going to do?"<p>

It was Giles who answered first. "I would suggest doing just that. Other than the fact that he lied to you, we don't know much about him or his reasons for being here. While you keep him busy, I will drive Angel and Willow to the address Willow found."

Buffy was aghast. "But what about your date with Miss Calendar?" The idea of ruining someone's social life was appalling to her. Especially since Giles barely had a social life to speak of.

"I'll have to re-schedule." Giles explained. "Perhaps I'll bring her with to make it up to her." In truth Giles was somewhat relieved for the excuse. He was terribly fond of Jenny, but he wasn't keen on the idea of a surprise date.

* * *

><p>"Oh Rupert. You bring me to the nicest places." Jenny observed sarcastically as the four of them exited the car in the warehouse district.<p>

"Yes, I said I was sorry. But my Slayer has to come first. You are aware of that." Giles said patiently.

"If you don't mind me asking, where were you going to go on your date before?" Willow asked as they walked.

"I had tickets to the monster truck show." Ms. Calendar answered.

"Monster trucks?" Willow squeaked and quickly covered her mouth to hide the grin.

"I thought it'd be something different." Jenny explained.

"Yes. Quite." Giles managed as he scratched his temple.

After Angel got them into the club, they split up. Angel and Willow took the upper catwalk and Giles and Jenny went to the lower level. After a minute walking around Giles spoke, "Fascinating. This appears to be some sort of vampire worshiping cult."

"Are you sure?" Jenny observed. "It looks more like a late costume party to me."

Chantarelle walked over to them, "You guys are newbies. I can tell."

"Yes. Yes we are. Could you tell us about this place?" Giles played along.

"We're here to be blessed by the Lonely Ones." Chantarelle explained.

"The Lonely Ones?" Jenny asked.

"Vampires." Giles answered tightly. "Tell me, do you know Billy Fordham?"

"Ford? Yes. He has a friend he says can get us blessed. He's out making the arrangements right now." Chantarelle answered.

Angel and Willow came down the stairs. "I've seen enough. You ready to go?" Angel said.

Giles turned and started walking up the stairs. "Yes, we should go. Apparently, Ford is out making arrangements for these fools to be 'blessed' by some of our nocturnal friends. We'll need to let Buffy know."

Diego overheard them them as they left.

* * *

><p>They pulled into the parking lot a few seconds before Buffy dusted her vampire. Giles motioned to the fight. "Who says I don't know how to show a woman a good time? Front row tickets to vampire... Slayage. Oh dear god. Their language is infecting me. Promise me you won't let them take me alive?"<p>

Jenny smirked. "Fear of becoming an American teenager. I wonder if I could find a spell to accomplish that? Should keep you in line." Then she pointed. "Looks like Ford's vamp got away."

Angel was the only other person quick enough to catch the flapping of the fleeing vamp's coat in the dark. "Well, lets go confront him then."

A quick lie about how Ford would be safer inside and all five people insisting that he come with them was all it took to get him in the library. With Ford seated at the table and all five of the others standing around him, Ford was feeling a little boxed in.

"So. Ford. Bestest best bud of mine. What's the what?" Buffy said coldly.

"Excuse me? I told you. My dad-"

"Shut up." Buffy squeezed his shoulder. "I'm getting sick and tired of people lying to me." She looked at Angel.

Angel saw his chance to explain slipping away. "Okay, I can explain that. But can we talk about it after we've dealt with him?"

Buffy squeezed a little harder and Ford cried in pain. "Ah!" When the pain lessened he rotated his shoulder to make sure it still worked. "What's all this about?"

Angel jumped at the chance to transfer some of Buffy's anger away from him. "Let's see? You lied to Buffy about why you're here. You lied about staking that vamp. And you own a club full of vampire wannabes. Is that enough?"

Ford looked unrepentant. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Angel growled and lunged into Ford's face, but the growl died when Angel got close. He took a few sniffs of Ford's hair.

"Okay, does anyone else think that was a little weird?" Willow asked.

Angel backed away with a blank look on his face. "He's dying." He sighed. "Three months?"

"They told me six. But by then what they bury won't even look like me. It'll be bald and shriveled and it'll smell bad." Everyone is silent. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did the nest of tumors liquefying my brain kinda spoil the mood?"

"I don't get it." Willow said. "You're dying. But what about your friends at the club. They wanted to be- Ooooh. You want to be a vampire!"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Buffy complained. "When you become a vamp; you die, and a demon sets up shop in your old house, and it walks, and it talks, and it remembers your life, but it's not you."

"It's better than nothing." Ford whispered.

"It _is _nothing. You're just killing yourself six months early." Buffy assured him.

"I'm going to be immortal." Ford insisted.

"And what makes you say that?" Buffy crossed her arms.

"This is just the way I imagined it!" Ford exclaimed. "And I know I am because you're going to let me go. You guys are the good guys and I haven't broken any laws so you can't touch me." Ford taunted.

"If you wanted to become a vamp, why come to me? I mean, I'm the Vampire Slayer. Why put yourself on my radar like that?" Buffy questioned.

"Buffy." Giles cautioned.

Buffy's shoulders fell as she realized. "You were going to offer them a trade." She said softly.

Willow came over to hold and comfort her friend. "Oh Buffy."

Angel was back in Ford's face growling. "What was that about not being able to touch you?" as he gave him a kidney shot. Ford yelled in pain. "Oh please. I've hit Xander a lot harder than that."

Willow shot a disappointed look at Angel. "Well, Xander's not exactly human now is he?"

"He's not?" Angel and Jenny asked simultaneously.

"Oh." Willow squeaked. "I probably shouldn't have said anything. It's kind of Xander's secret to tell. Anyway. First we have to figure out what to do with Mr. Traitor Pants here."

* * *

><p>Ricky Dunham was glad that this job was almost done. Sure it was government work and it paid well, but making this natural cave into some sort of military base had been a lot more dangerous than advertized. He'd lost five men down here. Most had simply disappeared. One had turned up with what looked like a bite mark on his neck. Not to mention the paperwork. The non-disclosure forms he and his men had to sign were outrageous. He wasn't allowed to tell the relatives of the dead and missing men where or how they had died. Simply for knowing that there was now some base underneath the UC Sunnydale campus. If he weren't being paid so well, he'd have told someone just for the hell of it. Still he was able to complain (without revealing details) to his new friend, Al. They had met at a bar and had just one thing in common. They both hated their jobs. Their bosses were horrible. From what Ricky could tell, Al might even be scared of his boss. Al never said, but Ricky assumed that he worked for the Mafia. What the Mafia was doing in a rinky-dink town like this, he'd never know.<p>

As Ricky bid farewell to his new friend, he truly hoped that he would be able to safely leave the service of his boss. Who ever it was, they owned this town.

* * *

><p>Deputy Mayor Allan Finch was worried. He was worried that he was quite literally working for the Devil. Sure, the Mayor <em>seemed<em> nice, but he was pretty sure that Deputy Mayors in other towns didn't have to dispose of dead bodies on a regular basis. Most of them also weren't worried about their bosses using them in some unholy ritual. He wasn't even sure he wanted to tell Mayor Richard Wilkins III about the what his former drinking buddy had let slip under the influence of too many beers. But a secret base under the college campus was certainly something that he would want to know about. Hopefully the Mayor wouldn't make him investigate.

* * *

><p>Mayor Richard Wilkins III was a little worried by the report he just received. It was also completely insane. But the person who had given it was completely truthful. He had seen to that. There's only so much pain a person can endure before they'll tell you everything you want to know. And when the subject was already dead, there was no risk of torturing him to death. The vampire had talked. Told him everything he wanted to know, and was now being vacuumed out of his carpet.<p>

This new player, this _Male_ Slayer, could only be trouble. It was nonsense of course, there was already one Slayer in town and there could only be one girl at a time. Which made the report doubly worrying. The Slayer was always a girl. The parts about him being crazy and having glowing eyes were unimportant right now. The Slayer had been a problem since she arrived, but she was a manageable problem and by now, a known quantity. She was also inevitable; living on an active Hellmouth attracted the town's more colorful nightlife. And if he killed this one, another would be called and sent. So he made sure that little Buffy Summers was kept in check and otherwise left alone. His own plans were far too important to allow a Slayer to catch wind of them. Those gosh darn girls could be a bit unpredictable at times. Dragging the vampire Angel out of retirement a case in point.

But a male Slayer, whatever he really was, could tip the balance of power in the wrong direction. This could mean he'd have to step up his plans for Ascension. He made a note to have Allan look into the date and time of the next solar eclipse.

* * *

><p>"So what do we do with him?" Willow asked the group what everyone was wondering. And had been wondering for the last 15 minutes.<p>

A noise from Giles' office distracted everyone from their thoughts. Everyone stared. Giles and Buffy started making their way to the door, which burst open revealing the second vampire from earlier carrying a book. She grabbed Giles, used him as a blocker against Buffy, and threw him into Angel as she passed and escaped out the back door.

Jenny ran up to Giles. "Are you okay?"

Giles was only concerned with his books, "A book! It took one of my books!"

"Well, at least someone in this school is reading." Jenny quipped.

Buffy sighed, "That's the vampire Ford said he killed." She turned back to where Ford had been sitting and caught the library door closing. "Well, at least we know what Ford is up to. Giles, do we know what book they stole?"

Giles shook his head. "I didn't get a good look at it. I'll have to go through my records and figure out which one is missing." Giles stood. "If Willow and Miss Calendar are willing to assist me, we should have it narrowed down soon enough. You and Angel should return to Ford's club. If he intends to turn into a vampire it's likely that he will either arrange for the others too be turned as well or use them either in trade or as a first meal. None of those options are good for their future longevity."

* * *

><p>It was a long walk back to the club and Angel and Buffy walked slowly. As they walked Angel explained everything about Drusilla.<p>

"Buffy." Angel began.

"Don't talk to me. First Ford. Now you. Actually, first Xander. But then _you_ got _Willow_ to lie to me." Buffy ranted. "Everybody is lying to me and I'm sick of it."

Angel took the silence as an opportunity to change the subject. "What did Willow mean when she said that Xander isn't human? Xander said he got some memories from Halloween. But I take it it was more than that?"

"You'll have to ask Xander. I don't feel like explaining right now." Buffy said tersely.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Angel wondered out loud.

"Everybody lies." Buffy said sadly.

* * *

><p>Angel and Buffy arrived at the club. It was only slightly less full than earlier that night. And Ford was nowhere to be seen. Buffy wondered if he was already betraying her. Spike was the only vampire in town whose name she knew. She wondered if Ford would find him or if he would just find some random vamp. No. Of course it would be Spike. She just couldn't seem to shake that parasite.<p>

"Can I have your attention please?" Buffy announced from the top of the stairs. "You are all idiots." She held up a hand when Angel tried to interrupt. "You are all trying to become vampires, correct?"

"You don't have to be so mean, you know?" Chantarelle answered. "We _want_ the Lonely Ones to bless us."

"Bless you?" Buffy asked incredulously. "Angel, show them."

Angel shifted into his game face and growled. "This is the face you want to never see in the mirror ever again?" he asked. "And as far as blessings go, the only one you're going to get is, 'For that which we are about to receive, may the dark lord make us truly thankful'." Angel finished his mock prayer and lunged at the girl with the choker. She shrunk back down the stairs. "What's the matter? The truth about vampires too much to take? Killing and feeding on humans every night not on your to-do list?"

"They are blasphemers!" Diego shouted. "Don't listen to them."

Angel walked calmly down the stairs, driving everyone before him. He walked over to the man in a blue cape and knocked him out with one punch. "Anyone else not want to listen?" Angel asked.

"And there's something else Ford probably forgot to mention. The Vampire Slayer. Basically, she's an ordinary girl who gets the job of killing every vampire she sees." Buffy pulled a stake. "Oh yeah. She's also me. So here's how it's going to go. You all line up in front of Angel down there. He's going to turn you and then I'm going to kill you permanently. Any questions?"

The room was silent for a moment before a goth girl raised her hand. "Can I not get turned?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed. Though she secretly breathed in relief. "Fine." She stepped off to the side of the catwalk, allowing people to leave. "Everyone who doesn't want to die, leave now and never come back. Everyone who stays gets turned and then killed." Buffy bluffed.

Everyone but the unconscious Diego left rather hurriedly.

"What about him?" Angel motioned to the unconscious man.

"We'll have to take him with us. Maybe drop him at the hospital 'till morning." Buffy replied.

"That was quite the bluff Buffy." Angel said as he lifted the boy.

"Everyone lies. It was just my turn." Buffy answered.

* * *

><p>The next morning Mayor Richard Wilkins III called in his Deputy Mayor. Finch was more nervous than usual. The poor man really needed to find a relaxing hobby. After the Deputy told him of what he'd learned about the base, the Mayor was troubled. <em>How could he have not heard anything about this? <em> He ordered Finch to send some vampires to check it out that night. Then he informed the Deputy Mayor of his own new findings. He told him to put the word on the street for information about this new, Male Slayer. And his final order to Allan was for him to find the all the solar eclipses that would be happening over the next two years.

Allan had really outdone himself. He had the predictions of the three remaining solar eclipses before the one he was planning on using. Two were going to hit mostly ocean, but one was going to hit Mexico this spring. It wouldn't hit the Hellmouth directly, but the energy of the Hellmouth and even a partial eclipse should be plenty to pull off the transformation. It was either that or go down to Mexico and he didn't want to do that. He was going to have to feed on the local population once he was transformed and he'd rather have some plump Americans than some stringy Mexicans.

It was a shame really. He was planning on a big ceremony at the high school graduation during the centennial celebration of the town. He even had his speech written. He'd had it written for 40 years now. He wrote it not long after Edna May had passed. He sighed thinking about her. Then he turned his attention to the date of the eclipse. April 20th. He counted back and found that January 10th would give him the required 100 days. Golly gee, that was only two months away. There was a lot to do and not much time to do it in. It was time to call in some favors.

* * *

><p>AN: And with that, we should be mostly caught up to SG1.

Please Review!


	10. Chapter 15

Chapter 15.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

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><p> Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

# Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice #

* * *

><p>% How do you feel? %<p>

/ Like we stayed awake for 36 hours and fought 13 vamps. / Xander answered. / Oh yeah. And hungry. /

% Yes, the activities over the last few days have put us far behind in our energy requirements. I don't suppose it would be possible to visit that 'Buffet' again? % Jolinar requested.

Xander kicked his legs out of bed and stood up. / Not open yet. Tell you what. You dial down the hunger for now and I'll sneak us over there for lunch. Okay? / Xander didn't hear a response, but his hunger died very suddenly.

Xander walked to school and made his way to the kitchen there. / Turn the hunger back on. / he told his symbiote. And very quickly he was again hungry enough to eat and drink an entire industrial sized can of fruit. Fruit cocktail mix this time. Tossing the empty can in the garbage he felt his hunger die again without him even asking. He wondered if it was just them getting used to each other or if it was the merging the other night. He met Giles just as he reached the library.

"How'd the rest of the night go?" Xander asked.

"Fairly well, we captured and then lost Ford. But we did discover his plan to trade Buffy in exchange for becoming a vampire. And we saved the deluded fools who bought into his promises for immortality." Giles summed up the previous night's activities.

"He wanted to what?" Xander stopped walking. "Why?"

"He was dying. Possibly still is dying. We haven't seen him since he escaped and he's not in this mornings obituaries." Giles explained the deluded boy's reasoning.

/ Well, I think that settles what we're building first. / Xander thought.

% The healing device? % Jolinar guessed his host's intentions. They had been discussing the pros and cons of what to build first since Xander found the knowledge of how to build the devices.

/ Yeah, with the healing device I can beat him up as much as I want without killing him. / Xander said darkly.

% Sounding a little close to a Goa'uld there. % Jolinar warned.

/ No one messes with my friends. / Xander answered. / On the other hand, with the device we could have healed him and made the deal seem stupid. Or stupider at least. /

"Xander, are you alright?" Giles asked.

Xander snapped out of his thoughts. "Yeah. Just thinking to ourselves. What alien tech we'd like to build first. How much I'd like to wring Ford's throat for trying to betray Buffy. That kind of thing."

"Did you say alien technology?" Giles queried.

"Oh yeah. Some cool stuff too. We just need money. Speaking of which, do you have that $300 you promised?" Xander asked.

"No. Tomorrow's Friday. I'll have it for you then. Would you like to work on your sword work for today instead?" Giles waved to the swords.

"Please." Xander answered and took up a sword. They went through various forms that morning. Even though he felt he had been doing better against Angel, it was almost like he was starting over with Giles. It was Jolinar who noticed that they were teaching him two different styles of swordsmanship. It wasn't unexpected. Their styles were developed on different islands almost 200 years apart. There were likely to be differences. The style Giles was teaching relied more on cuts than thrusts and vice versa for Angel's style. It was good to learn both styles. Though Xander preferred Giles' style, since it seemed like it would be better and killing demons. In fact, when Xander asked, Giles confirmed that it was indeed designed for Slayers for that purpose. Though, before last night, he wasn't going to teach him some parts as they were impossible for anyone without Slayer strength. But if he was capable of it, then Giles would teach it to him... eventually. Best to learn the basics first. Then they sparred the last 15 minutes before kids started to arrive.

"Xander, nice form!" Buffy cried, breaking Xander's concentration. He received a rap to the side of his head for that.

"Terribly sorry, Xander." Giles apologized, then switched to scolding. "Buffy, you should know better than to interrupt someone when they're training. Xander is still very new at this."

"Looked pretty good to me. My forms never look that good." Buffy countered.

"If you're saying that you need to practice your forms, you are 100% correct." Giles smiled. "We can practice tonight. But you're right. Xander does have the basic forms down already. Now it will be more a matter of practice and doing them faster and in combination with each other."

"Combinations?" Xander asked.

"Well yes. You don't just defend. You parry and then attack." Giles showed them a combination that demonstrated his words. "Parry, riposte."

Xander thanked Giles for teaching him and left for class with Buffy. After all the excitement of the past week, a nice normal day was a god-send.

When lunch rang he was surprised to hear % Buffet % ring in his head. He had forgotten all about his symbiote. His hunger came back with a vengeance and he snuck off school grounds and headed for the buffet. He was glad that the owner didn't seem to be there. This time Xander counted. They ate 9 plates of food and drank 12 glasses of pop.

/ We good? / Xander asked.

% Yes, though that only puts us back where we were before the merge. I would like to eat here again tonight if we can. % Jolinar responded.

Xander paid before leaving. / Bad idea. Buffy got banned from this place for eating too much too often. /

% They can do that? % Jolinar wondered.

/ She was costing them money. She might have been able to fight it, but it really isn't worth it. / Xander explained. / Buffy's mom might be willing to feed us. She might not notice another huge stomach. I'll see if I can't get us invited over for dinner tonight. /

* * *

><p>The Inquiry into the actions of Major Louis Ferretti and Lieutenant Samuel Turner was quick and rather painless. The prosecuting officer either didn't notice or chose to ignore the holes in the official reports. As long as everyone's story matched, it didn't matter to the Inquiry. O'Neill wasn't happy that they had gotten identical sentences. He didn't think that Ferretti's actions were equivalent to Turner's and had made that point when he testified. But he was satisfied that Ferretti's sentence had been commuted more than Turner's. They both received 2 weeks of docked pay and 2 weeks in the brig. Turner's had been commuted to 1 week in the brig for a first offense. Ferretti's brig stay had been commuted entirely though it would still remain on his record. Jack figured he could live with that.<p>

Which was good since it meant that SG-2, with a temporary replacement, could take SG-1's next mission while SG-1 went to visit the Tok'ra... maybe.

SG-1 and General Hammond sat around the conference table.

"Are we really sure we want to go visit these snakes? I mean they are Goa'uld, aren't they?" Jack groused.

"I'm sure that they can be trusted, sir. And that Daniel's note is right. I can't explain it. It just feels right." Sam explained.

Teal'c added, "According to Jaffa legend, the Tok'ra are the Goa'uld resistance. Their stated goal is the destruction of the System Lords and a change in the ways of the empire. They are hunted and despised by the Goa'uld."

"Yes! My kinda guys!" O'Neill did an exaggerated fist pump.

Carter turned to Hammond. "Sir, if this note is right, then the Tok'ra will be under attack soon. Warning them of this attack could be a nice way to start relations."

"Or it could make them suspicious that we led the Goa'uld to them." Hammond reasoned.

"If they're attacked and wiped out, or if they simply leave these coordinates, we would lose a powerful potential ally. I think it's worth checking out." Sam argued.

Hammond considered for a moment before turning to his 2IC. "Colonel?"

"General?" Jack answered.

"I'm prepared to send SG-1 through to the coordinates in the letter, if you agree." Hammond explained.

"Colonel, I know you're skeptical about these things, but I am confident that I am right on this one." Carter insisted.

"Let's check it out." Jack nodded.

* * *

><p>They didn't so much find the Tok'ra as the Tok'ra found them. And negotiations were not going well. Teal'c, as a Jaffa, was not welcome. Carter sensed the symbiotes and called them Goa'uld. That didn't make them happy at all.<p>

"Okay, okay. Not Goa'uld. We got it. I have a message here from... well we think it's Jolinar of Malkshur." Daniel reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the note.

The leader stepped forward, #"Where is Jolinar?"#

"He's dead." Carter answered. "He died saving my life."

"Sam was Jolinar's last host. He was killed by an Ashrak. But Sam didn't write that note. We think there might be someone else on Earth that has Jolinar's memories. If not Jolinar himself." Daniel explained.

#"Why did you not bring this person with you?"# the leader asked.

"Well, he didn't want to come with us yet. Though he and his friends did save our lives. It seemed like they might be dealing with their own problems right now. I'm guessing that he wanted to deal with that before meeting back up with you?" Daniel guessed. "That's why we're here. He asked us to seek out the Tok'ra."

"Assuming of course you are the Tok'ra." Jack stated.

#"And if we're not?"# the leader asked.

"Well, I guess we all start shooting, there's blood, death, hard feelings…it'd suck." Jack explained sarcastically.

Eventually, the Tok'ra took them to their underground base and Daniel handed over the note and watched as the two Tok'ra read it. It wasn't hard to see what part they were on. He had committed it to memory. On it was the address for the Tok'ra world along with a message. 'There is a spy among the Tok'ra. It is the only way that Jolinar could have been found by the Goa'uld. Go there quickly and explain the situation to them. If Jolinar was betrayed, it is only a matter of time before the Tok'ra base is as well. Explain to Martouf/Lantash that Jolinar is in a better place.'

While they were reading, Carter came closer to Daniel and Jack. "I think the younger one is Martouf."

"And how do you know that?" Jack inquired.

"I don't know, sir. I just do." Carter explained. As they came closer she asked, "Are you Martouf?"

"I am. What made you say that?" Martouf confirmed.

"I don't know. This whole place seems familiar though. You seem more familiar." Carter explained.

After a meet and greet followed by a couple hours of pleasant interrogation by Gershaw. Yosuf came forward from Gershaw and brought them into a room where an old woman was sitting half asleep. "This is Selmak."

Martouf added, "Her hosts name is Saroosh. She is one of the oldest and wisest among us, an important leader for our cause. However, she is unfortunately very ill, and will soon die."

"Oh hush." Saroosh raised her head. "You're going to give her an inflated ego and flush 200 years of hard work on my part down the drain. And we have plenty of time left. Weeks. Maybe months."

"It's nice to meet you, Saroosh." Daniel led the introductions. "My name is Daniel Jackson, this is Samantha Carter, Jack O'Neill and Teal'c. We're travelers from Earth. Jolinar of Malkshur was there recently and left us a note that we should contact the Tok'ra and warn them of a spy in their midst."

"I see. I don't suppose any of you are interested in becoming a host?" Saroosh said softly. "I would like to ensure that Selmak finds a good home when I'm gone."

When they declined and Carter fled the room and everyone else had followed, Saroosh said to one of her caregivers, "Ask Samantha Carter to return. I'd like to talk to her some more."

When the attendant arrived, Gershaw was yelling at SG-1, #"That was you? We had operatives who died on board those vessels."#

"Hey!" O'Neill yelled back. "If they had stopped Apophis, then we wouldn't have had to blow the ships up. And if we had been allies then, we could have warned you to get your people out before we blew the place. You see? An alliance might not be such a bad idea. Because we're going to keep blowing up Goa'uld."

"At least now we know how and why our operatives died, and for that we are truly grateful." Yosuf said. "Perhaps you are correct. I will try to convince the Council of Tok'ra to meet with you."

The attendant stepped forward. #"Saroosh requests to speak with Samantha Carter."#

Carter gave a nod to O'Neill who returned it before she went with the man.

"Please come in." Saroosh said quietly and waited until Carter sat down. "I wanted to let you know that I understand. If Selmak were somehow taken from me. I'm not sure I would ever be able to take a new symbiote. I care for her as if she were both my child and my parent. For like a child, she is unable to survive without me. And like a parent, she is older and wiser than me in many, but not all, ways."

Carter sighed and leaned forward in her seat. "Thank you. It's been so hard to come up with an analogy to what I'm feeling right now. It's like losing my mother all over again, but worse. And it's just too hard to explain it to someone who hasn't experienced it." Saroosh just gave a knowing smile. After a while, Carter collected herself. "It's not that there aren't people on Earth who might be willing to be hosts. But most of the few people who know about aliens have been involved in fighting the Goa'uld for some time now. It's as if you're worst enemy's twin sister asked to join your side. It's not that we don't like you, but most of us have some very ingrained responses to Goa'uld."

"I understand." Saroosh assured her. "Tell you what. Just keep us in mind. If you come across anyone who might not think of us as their enemy?"

"I will." Samantha assured her. "Now, what about the spy? Jolinar seems to think that one of the Tok'ra betrayed her."

Saroosh frowned and dipped her head. Selmak answered. #"As you said before, our numbers rarely grow. We do take in the odd Goa'uld that claims to have turned on the System Lords. Jolinar was one of these. Usually they are just hiding from one particular System Lord. Sometimes they really do join us and sometimes they don't. We limit the knowledge they receive until we are sure of their intentions. Usually the first time they change hosts will tell us for sure if they are Tok'ra or not."#

"The first time you can be sure the host is talking of his or her own free will." Carter reasoned.

#"Exactly. Even the Tok'ra cannot tell for sure whether host or symbiote is speaking."# Selmak confirmed. #"Though you can rest assured that Jolinar has changed host while she was with us and confirmed that her intentions were good."#

* * *

><p>A thorough search of the Tok'ra base discovered Cordesh trying to destroy his long range viewer. A quick arrest and the offender was quickly taken care of.<p>

#"Cordesh has almost certainly told them our position. We will have to move our base."# Gershaw said. #"We owe you a great debt for your help in discovering him. There is no telling how many Tok'ra lives he has cost us."#

"It's what we do." Jack smiled a little smugly.

#"However,"# Gershaw continued. #"Selmak will not be able to make the move to a new base. She is too weak to be moved. I beg of you. There are more humans where you are from. Surely, there must be one or two who would welcome being a Tok'ra host."#

O'Neill and Carter shared a look. Carter explained again, "The problem is that there are very few people who know about aliens right now. If everyone knew, we could probably come back with a hundred people willing to try. But we will ask."

#"That is all we can ask."# Gershaw bowed.

Then Yosuf added. "And thank you for all that you've done."

Jack smiled at the host, "It was our pleasure."

Gershaw took control again. #"A few Tok'ra have volunteered to care for Selmak until a new host is found."# she handed Carter a device. #"This will announce to them that you have returned. Hopefully with a host."#

* * *

><p>After SG-1 had departed, Gershaw turned to Lantash. "You must go to the Tau'ri home-world. Seek out the one who sent this note and bring them back to us. If you determine that it truly is Jolinar, then peacefully. Otherwise, use whatever means necessary."<p>

"We will find her." Lantash assured his leader.

Gershaw nodded and brought up a set of coordinates on the computer. "There is a cloaked ship on this world. It's the closest one to the Tau'ri, but it will still take you several weeks to reach their planet. Call us when you arrive."

"As you command," Martouf saluted and bowed.

Gershaw frowned at his back. Lantash was far too willing to let Martouf be the primary personality. Sharing was all well and good, but they were still Tok'ra.

* * *

><p>"So even with the note and helping to root out a spy we still don't have an alliance with the Tok'ra?" General Hammond summarized.<p>

"No, sir." Carter replied. "Not that they weren't grateful for our help. They did seem to warm to us more after that. We even got our weapons back. But what they really need are hosts. Willing hosts. Any form of alliance on their part seems to hinge on that." she explained. "It makes sense though, sir. They don't need our technology and they've done fine without us for a long time. But they always need hosts. If we could offer even just a few people willing to try it, we could add a very powerful ally. With your permission sir, I'd like to set up some interviews and psychological screening of non-essential base personnel. Just to see if anyone might be willing and able to be a host."

"And you're sure they won't just take over the host we provide them?" the general asked.

Surprisingly it was O'Neill who answered. "Sir, we were there for a while. They could have easily forced us to become hosts. The fact is that we can't be completely sure. And I'm not willing to try it myself, but I won't stand in the way of someone who wants to take the chance. They seemed nice, though at least as suspicious of us as we were of them."

Hammond thought for a minute then nodded to Carter, "Run your interviews and tests. I'm _not _signing off on the... what do we call it? Hosting?"

"They call it blending, sir." Carter said with a smile at the word that could be applied to computers and aliens.

"Fine. I'm not signing off on the _blending_ yet. But it would be good to have an idea of who might be available when we come to a decision. I'm going to have to go to the President on this one. Next on the agenda, Colonel, how are those contingency plans for extracting our friend from Sunnydale coming?"

"Great sir. I've got the best case scenario done. I'll finish up the ones that don't involve every team in the SGC and a Goa'uld mothership later today." Jack answered.

Hammond gave a small chuckle. Leave it to O'Neill to go completely overboard on what should be a quiet extraction. "Fine. What about the search for the young man?"

Daniel answered, "We've gathered the high school and college records for the last ten years. We've gone through all the kids with names starting with a Z or an X and came up with nothing. Next, we're just going to go through pictures of all the males one by one until we find him. Depending on how lucky we get, were talking another day. Two days tops unless he never went to school in Sunnydale."

"Very well. Report to me once you've found him. Do not start a wider search for him without my approval. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." they both intoned.

"Very well, Teal'c if you'd like to help any of your teammates, I'm sure they'll appreciate it. Dismissed people."

* * *

><p>As luck would have it, Xander was able to get himself (and Jolinar) and Willow invited to Buffy's house for dinner that night. He and Buffy agreed that they wouldn't leave the table until not a scrap of food remained.<p>

Xander, Willow, Buffy, and her mom sat around the dining room table eating. Joyce was glad that there was another teenager in the world who could put away food like Buffy. The parenting books warned her that teenagers ate a lot of food, but she never believed just how much until she saw her food bills. Seeing Xander eat just as much as Buffy gave her an odd sense of comfort and even happiness that her daughter was a normal teenager and that she and her friends liked her cooking so much. Even if Willow ate like a bird compared to the other two.

After dinner the kids thanked Joyce and then headed up to Buffy's room to talk. "So Xander," Buffy began. "What's it like?" Willow leaned forward eagerly.

"What's what like?" Xander replied.

"To have that... thing in your head?" Buffy said as tactfully as ever.

Xander scratched his chin to hide the grimace that Jolinar was putting on his face. / Easy buddy. We just have to make them understand. / Xander thought, then continued out loud, "It's incredible. I have access to memories of so much. Births, deaths, fighting, hiding... and a lot of meetings. The Tok'ra really like meetings. But there's just so much knowledge that it's worth watching a few meetings. And then there's the day to day talking. I get my own advice channel. He-"

"She." Buffy interrupted. "Jolinar told us that she's a she last night."

/ You told them that? When? / Xander asked.

% After you were asleep. % Jolinar answered.

/ You didn't feel like telling me? / Xander sighed. / Do you have any idea how much I'm going to get teased about this? /

% I didn't think it was important. And to answer your last question, yes. % Xander was sure there was more than a little amusement when _she_ said that.

"You okay, Xander?" Willow asked with concern on her face.

Xander nodded. "Just a little internal conversation. What you saw last night was some of what we talk about every day. Just we were talking out loud instead of thinking it. I like thinking it better. I've always considered myself a very internal person."

"Right Xan." Buffy patted his knee.

"Anyway, I lost my train of thought. But to answer your question. It's cool." Xander finished.

"Cool. Maybe I'll have to see about getting myself a symbywhatever." Buffy grinned.

#"NO!"# Xander and Jolinar both shouted.

"Buffy? Everything okay up there?" Joyce yelled up the stairs in response.

"Yeah Mom. Willow and I were just teasing Xander." Buffy covered.

"Okay. Try to keep it down." Mrs Summers said before she went back to whatever she was doing.

"Okay. What's wrong?" Willow asked, dangerously close to her resolve face. "First you said it's great to have a symbiote and then you say no to us having one?"

"Not you, Will. If you want one. I will get you one. But Buffy can't be allowed to have one. There's an old memory that the Goa'uld carry of someone called a hok'taur. Basically it means Superman. Goa'uld have been chasing the hok'taur for thousands of years. It's like the Holy Grail for Goa'uld. Being a host makes me faster, stronger and smarter than I used to be. If a Goa'uld got a hold of Buffy, they might be able to rule the galaxy." Xander explained.

"Well, I didn't want a Goa'uld. I wanted a Tok'ra. They're the good guys, right?" Buffy pouted slightly.

"The answer is still no. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Which is why we have to keep your existence a secret from everyone. If the Tok'ra find out, the Goa'uld will find out and then every Goa'uld in the galaxy will be looking for you." Xander replied. "And it's not completely perfect. Along with the good memories come bad. The Tok'ra Queen, Egeria, had Goa'uld parents, so I remember a lot of bad things like I did them myself. And Jolinar wasn't always a Tok'ra. She defected, so there are things in her past she doesn't like to talk about. But I try not to think about that stuff too much."

The three of them talked for quite a while longer. Buffy and Willow asked him all sorts of questions about the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra and about Jolinar. After they were done, Buffy walked Xander and Willow home before going patrolling.


	11. Chapter 16

Chapter 16.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Fridays were a wonderful invention. The last day before the weekend. And a day to get paid. Not that he had a job, but Giles had promised to pay him for the gun he'd given him earlier in the week. Xander found himself whistling a tune. He stopped and had to laugh when he realized what song it was.<p>

% What is so funny? Is the hyena back? % Jolinar seemed a little worried. While Xander had little experience dealing with anger, Jolinar had never been possessed before. The experience had left him wary of it happening again.

/ No. It was just the song that popped into my head was a little ironic. Do you know the song Jolene by Dolly Parton? Here, let me remember the song for you. / And he accessed a memory of listening to the country song on the radio.

/ Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
>I'm begging of you please don't take my man<br>Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene  
>Please don't take him just because you can<br>Your beauty is beyond compare  
>With flaming locks of auburn hair<br>With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green  
>Your smile is like a … da da da. 

The memory faded out. He couldn't remember any more lyrics.

% That was very good. I could actually hear her performing the song for a while. Would it be possible to hear it in it's entirety? I'd like to commit it to memory. % Jolinar asked.

/ Not a problem. / Xander answered. Or maybe it was a problem. Police tape and two cruisers surrounding the back door he was planning on using. The chalk outline on the ground told him all he needed to know and he secretly hoped all his friends were okay. They were, after all, the most likely people to use the library's back door.

But it would be some time before they'd usually get here. So he climbed into school through a window and made his way to a computer lab instead. Logging on to his Napster account he quickly downloaded the song Jolene and two remakes for Jolinar to compare. He and Jolinar listened to them for about ten minutes.

% That is a beautiful song. Very sad. % Jolinar stated.

/ Yeah, I think it's the closest thing on Earth to a song with your name in it. Also, pretty much all country songs are sad. It's just kind of the style. / Xander explained.

% There are other styles? % Jolinar inquired.

/ Sure. / Xander and Jolinar spent the next half hour downloading and listening to different types of music.

Jolinar liked everything but rap. % I'm not sure it qualifies as music. There weren't any musical notes. Just talking and swearing. %

Noise in the halls alerted them to the fact that school was about to start. He went searching for Giles and the gang. They definitely weren't in the library. Some cops were in there instead. He finally found the gang by Buffy's locker. He was trying to get Giles out of Ms. Calendar's grasp and alone so he could warn him about the cops in the library, but somehow got a remedial computer class this Saturday for his troubles. The really surprising thing was that Buffy asked him to come along on patrol that night. She wanted to see how the training with Angel was going. He was so flattered, Buffy had never asked him to patrol before, that he completely forgot to ask Giles about the money he was owed. Or warn him about the cops in the library.

* * *

><p>Buffy was annoyed but Xander was worried. The cops in the library plus Giles missing didn't add up to anything good in his book. Buffy was about to call Giles when the delivery van pulled up. He and Buffy attacked and were already handling the three vamps pretty easily when Angel showed up. At even odds, the vamps didn't stand a chance. Xander didn't even make a move on his own vamp. Just kept it busy until Buffy stabbed it in the back.<p>

"Not bad Xander. Those were some good moves." Buffy complimented him.

"You were holding back." Angel stated.

Xander shrugged, "Didn't have to attack. I had you two to back me up." Xander saw Buffy make her thinking face as she considered that new information.

Then Buffy's face changed as she made a realization, she turned to Angel, "Wait! How did you know about this?"

Angel inspected the cooler. "It's delivery day. Everybody knows about this. They only ruined one bag."

"Do you guys think you could make sure the hospital gets the rest?" Buffy asked.

Xander nodded. "We got it Buff."

"Thanks. I'm worried about Giles. He was supposed to meet me here." Buffy explained.

Xander agrees, "Yeah, me too. There were some cops in the library earlier today, so check the police station if he's not home."

"The police were there? Why didn't you tell me?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Well because maybe it was private and none of our business. I was going to ask him about it alone and then decide if there was anything we could do to help or if it should be left alone." Xander explained. "Tell you what. You go see if he's okay. If he's not at home or at the cop shop, give us a call at Angel's and we'll help look for him."

Buffy took off. Xander waited until she was gone before going to the cooler. He opened it, took out the ruined bag and tossed it to Angel. "You want any more?"

Angel caught the bag. He took a sniff and closed his eyes. "I can't."

Xander shut the cooler and started carrying it to the hospital. "Suit yourself. You _are_ a vampire though and it's just going to go to waste if you don't." Xander dropped the cooler off and turned around. The bag was gone, Angel was back in game face, and his lips were a little red. Xander said nothing. "So, we going to train tonight?"

"That depends. I understand that you're not exactly human any more." Angel replied as he morphed back to his regular face. At Xander's look he explained, "Willow let it slip last night."

"Anyone else know?" Xander asked as he knelt in front of the car. He pulled out a plastic baggie and scooped some of the ash into the bag, then zipped it shut.

"That other teacher of yours. Miss Calendar." Angel answered, watching.

That could explain why she was so keen on getting Xander into the Saturday computer class when he was now doing fine in that subject. "Okay." Xander said and let Jolinar take over and introduce himself.

After the meet and greet, Xander took control again. "Fine, you guys have been introduced. Can we train now?" As he climbed into the dead vampires' car.

"What are you doing?" Angel asked.

"They're not using it." Xander reasoned.

"It's probably stolen." Angel retorted but got in.

"Maybe." Xander admitted as he took off. He parked a block away from Angel's place, just in case it really was stolen.

They sparred for only an hour hand to hand. But went at it for two hours with the swords and another hour with staffs to round out the night.

"You didn't ask." Xander stated.

"Ask what?" Angel narrowed his eyes.

"The girls were very keen on finding out what it's like having Jolinar inside me. But you barely said a word." Xander clarified.

"I know what it's like to have someone else in your head. I deal with it every night. I just hope that your friend is nicer than mine." That was the last thing Angel said until he had dropped off Harris at home.

* * *

><p>Jeff Gervais made his rounds through the Sunnydale morgue. He was new and his boss had told him that corpses sometimes went missing around here. So he was supposed to check that they were all still here. He had almost laughed in the guy's face. It was certainly an interesting way to jerk around the new guy, but harmless enough he supposed. So he went and did as he was asked. He figured someone would jump out of somewhere to try to scare him as he did this, so he tried to remain ready.<p>

Suddenly, he was tackled from behind and a plastic bag is forced over his head. This was not the surprise he was expecting. He struggled for a bit but was quickly forced into a storage unit.

Jeff quickly removed the bag from his head and took a deep breath of the chilled air. He kicked the door open. The units were equipped with release levers on the inside for just such an occasion. What he expected to see was one of his stupid colleagues grinning stupidly after pulling that stupid stunt. _A plastic bag on his head? They could have killed him! _ Instead what he saw was the clearly still dead body that had been brought in that day walking out of the morgue.

When he tried to explain it to his superior, the man didn't bat an eye.

"So, Mr. Henry left us. Figured as much. Did he attack you?" the supervisor calmly stated.

"Yeah. He put a plastic bag over my head and threw me into a storage unit." Gervais dumbfoundedly explained. He had expected a reaction. Fear, disbelief, mocking laughter that he fell for their prank, anything. His boss being ho-hum about this was the last thing he imagined.

"Well, you survived." his boss waved away any concerns. "Surviving your first encounter and not going crazy is half the battle here." He actually smiled. "The rest of the boys will give you a rundown on the rest of the security measures we have to keep the living alive. And they'll invite you to bet on their pool of 'who will wake up?'. Feel free to play or not as you like. But my advice to you is to never bet against bodies from the high school waking up until you're more experienced. Way too many of the ones from there walk back out under their own power." He paused and took a sip of water. "So, go ahead and take a nap. We have sleeping quarters here if you like. It tends to be safer than going home at night. We also have a large selection of very cheap booze. We find it tends to help calm the nerves after your first experience."

* * *

><p>At the briefing the next day, Daniel and Sam had good news. "We found him." Daniel announced. He produced a file folders for Jack, Teal'c and Hammond. "The person you're looking at is Alexander LaVelle Harris. We assume the Z or X sound we heard was short for 'Xander'. An uncommon, though not unheard of, nickname for Alexander. He's a 17 year old junior at Sunnydale High School. A 'C' student since elementary school, his name didn't come up much in school records until last year. When he was involved in several attacks on students."<p>

"He attacked other students?" O'Neill interrupted.

"If he were doing the attacking, would not your police forces apprehend him, O'Neill?" Teal'c questioned.

Sam nodded. "Exactly. His former principal had nothing but good things to say about him. Up until the point were the principal died."

"Died _how_ exactly." O'Neill queried.

Daniel exchanged a look with Sam before answering, "He was eaten by wild animals."

Jack put his head in his hands.

"In his office." Daniel continued.

Jack put his head on the table.

"In broad daylight." Daniel finished.

Jack started banging his head on the table. After a few blows he sat up, "This is giving me a headache."

"Pounding your head against a hard surface will often accomplish that, O'Neill." Teal'c admonished.

Jack gave him a sarcastic grin, "Thanks Teal'c." then he turned back to Daniel. "What does the current principal say about him?"

Daniel and Sam looked at each other again. They had talked long and hard about this. But decided that leaving Buffy's name out would draw more suspicion than leaving it in. They weren't, however, able to warn Teal'c or Jack before hand. "Well, sir. Nothing good." Sam answered. "In fact, there was so much change from one principal to the other that we ran a check on the reports that each principal gave a random sample of children. While the late Principal Flute gave mostly good reports on each student. Principal Snyder didn't give a single positive report in our sample. We even doubled the sample size, but were still unable to come up with a single positive report for a student. Though, that did show us another pattern."

Another shared look and Daniel continued, "Principal Snyder seemed to focus most of his ire on four people. Three students and the librarian, Dr. Rupert Giles."

"The plot thickens." Hammond settled into his chair. "Is our friend Mr. Harris among these three students."

"Yes, sir." Sam took up the thread, "Though interestingly enough, when we searched all the reports for the four of them, neither he nor Dr. Giles was listed as the 'leader' of the 'delinquents' as he called them. He blames the trouble they get in on one Buffy Summers." Looks were exchanged among SG-1. "There's also a Willow Rosenberg rounding out quartet."

"Tell me about this Buffy Summers." Hammond ordered.

"Well, there's not much to tell sir." Carter replied. "There's not much info available except for the school reports, and I don't trust those. We've got a picture of her at least. And if you don't mind me saying, she doesn't look like the leader of a delinquent gang."

O'Neill added, "Sir, Daniel and I both met the principal. He didn't strike either of us as a nice guy. It could just be that this..." he looked at the folder for effect, "Summers girl is simply standing up to a mean and overbearing principal. Just looking at her picture says 'cheerleader' not 'delinquent'."

"I agree." General Hammond nodded. "But her connection to Mr. Harris can't be overlooked. When you get back from your next mission, I would like you to find out all you can on all four of those people."

"Next mission, sir?" O'Neill perked up.

"Yes, SG-2 went on a standard recon of P3X-775. They're overdue by several hours now and we've been unable to raise them by radio." Hammond explained.

"We'll see what we can do sir." O'Neill replied.

* * *

><p>"They just handed you SG-2's weapons and remote transmitters? Offered no further explanation?" Hammond asked from the base of the ramp.<p>

"Only that they had been accused of a crime and sent through the Stargate to some sort of prison." O'Neill answered.

"What crime?" Hammond wondered.

"They said it wasn't our concern and sent us straight to the Stargate. I figured that we either needed backup or a different strategy with people who can beam us around at will." O'Neill stated.

"No, you did the right thing returning to base. From what you tell me, this has become a diplomatic problem. That means SG-9." Hammond decided. "Debrief in one hour. Then you'll start looking for more information on our Sunnydale problem."

* * *

><p>AN: "Jolene." Made famous by Dolly Parton. I don't own. Really good song.

Napster. Didn't technically come online until 1999 according to Wikipedia. Also don't own. Just playing with the timeline again.

Jeff Gervais and Ricky Dunham. Took two comedians' names who I was watching and switched them for some misc character names. It's probably easier to see side by side like this.

P3X-775 – Season 2 Episode 3. SG-1 finds a man in the forest and get sent to a penal colony. In cannon, they befriend Linea (The destroyer of worlds) and escape. SG-2 took that mission while SG-1 was meeting with the Tok'ra.


	12. Chapter 17

Chapter 17.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Colonel Maybourne sat across from his promising new recruit. "If the intelligence you have is as good as you claim. You just go ahead and consider yourself <em>Captain<em> Turner."

Maybourne knew all about vampires, demons, and the NID's new pet project; codenamed The Initiative. He wasn't particularly surprised that SG-1 had already been poking around in there. They just kept getting in his hair one way or another. What surprised him was why they went there and what they found. The why was some sort of security breach. Turner didn't know squat about that. But what they found that didn't make it into the reports did intrigue him. If nothing else, he could hold the fact that O'Neill had falsified mission reports over the arrogant colonel. Hell, for that alone he'd hire the new captain.

But this Slayer was worth so much more. She sounded like the perfect weapon against the Goa'uld. One that could never run out. Send them out. If they don't come back another is called. Amazing. And if they found one that wouldn't cooperate, well there were a number of tests they could run to learn more from her.

His bosses would be very pleased.

* * *

><p>Willow arriving before him wasn't unexpected. The girl loved school more than almost anything. Buffy being there ahead of him sent off warning signals though. "Xander! Somethings up with Giles." she cried even before he said hi.<p>

"Hello, it's nice to see you as well." Xander replied.

"Xander! This is important. I went to his house and he was there. But he wasn't very Gilesy. I think- I think he was drinking. And when I mentioned the cops, he started yelling at me to mind my own business." Buffy was in a near panic.

"Okay. Calm down Buff. We'll figure this out." Xander assured her. "First things first. Let's get to the library. See if we can find out why the cops wanted to talk to Giles."

When they got to the library, Willow went on the computer, Xander sat on the table and Buffy paced. Until a sound from the back room caught their attention. Xander and Buffy went to check it out. Xander instinctively tried to use hand signals to tell Buffy what each of them should do. But Buffy just shook her head and made a 'what are you talking about?' face. So Xander just whispered in her ear, "You go that way. I'll go this way." while repeating the hand signals. Buffy nodded and they both took their aisles. Xander let Buffy take point. As stealthy as she was, whoever was in here noticed her and started moving parallel to her. Xander snuck up behind him as he was focused on her. He found himself wishing for a zat'nik'tel again and put that as number 2 on his shopping list. Instead he put the man in a choke hold. He took a couple elbows to his ribs for his trouble, but soon the man was unconscious.

"Hey, I know this guy." Buff said as she ran to where the commotion was. "He's the guy from the costume shop."

"Looks like." Xander agreed. "Can you carry him back to the other room? He'll come to pretty soon and we can ask him why he's here then."

"Why do I have to carry him?" Buffy asked as she she set the man on the table.

"Because you're stronger than I am, Supergirl. And I'm okay with that as long as it gets me out of carrying heavy objects." Xander teased and followed Buffy as she carried the intruder to the Library's main room.

"Ohh." The costume shop guy moaned and sat up.

"Do you remember me? You turned me into a helpless little girl for Halloween and nearly got us all killed." Buffy waved a finger in his face.

"Ah, yes. I remember you. You looked great as I recall." he answered.

Buffy aimed a punch at his jaw but Xander deflected it. "I went as a soldier. It's been really useful actually. So I owed you one. Now we're even. You tell us everything we want to know, or I let Buffy rip your arms out of their sockets. I'm told that's unpleasant. Let's start with who you are and why you're here."

"Ethan Rayne. And I was snooping. Looking for Rupert actually. You wouldn't happen to know where to find him?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes, "You know Giles?"

Ethan nodded, "We go back. Way back."

"You wouldn't happen to know why he was acting so wiggy or why the police were talking to him yesterday, do you?" Buffy continued.

Rayne rolled up his left sleeve. "This is the mark of Eyghon. Some friends and the two of us used to have some fun with this little thing. But that's all I'm saying until dear old Rupert gets here."

The three looked at each other and shrugged. They wanted to hear what was up with Giles too. So Buffy called Giles, before they could finish their conversation however, a zombie attacked. When Miss Calendar and Cordelia came in, Ethan made a break for it. Xander finally got to put his new skills to use on a human opponent. The fight was easy compared to fighting vampires. It was almost like Ethan was moving in slow motion. Xander ended the fight by putting him in a choke hold again while Buffy fought the zombie into the book cage.

"Xander, what are you doing?" Miss Calendar asked.

"It's okay. He's an old friend of Giles." Xander told her as if that explained everything. He heard the book cage close and turned to make sure that Buffy was on the outside. Satisfied, he let the unconscious Brit drop gently to the floor then he turned back to his teacher, "Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about the mark of Eyghon, would you?"

Before she could answer they were interrupted by Buffy yelling "Eww." Turning back to the book cage, the zombie had dissolved into a puddle of green goo. Goo that was now spreading across the floor. It was very close to Ethan Rayne's hand before Xander pulled him back. Xander checked the hand and nothing was on it, so he must have gotten him away in time. Then the puddle dissolved.

"Well, that was interesting." Jenny stated flatly.

Willow replied, "You don't see that every day."

"I'm going to be in therapy until I'm 30." complained Cordelia.

"Fascinating" Jolinar stated.

"Jolinar?" Willow guessed.

"Of course. Xander finds this all rather **blasé.** But for me, well it's one thing to see memories of events like this. It's quite another to actually experience them first hand." Jolinar explained.

"You _are_ Xander, nimrod." Cordelia snapped. "And what the heck is a Jolinar? Is that the zombie thing we just killed?"

Jolinar sighed and turned to Buffy. "It really is difficult to maintain a secret identity around here, isn't it?"

"You're telling me." Buffy agreed.

"Okay, Miss Calendar and Miss Chase, please sit together at the table and we'll begin introductions." Jolinar waited until they were seated then continued in his other voice, #"Greetings. I am Jolinar of Malkshur. I'm pleased to meet you."#

Miss Calendar, who had been warned, was calm. "It's nice to meet you, Jolinar."

Cordelia was shocked. "What the hell was that? Why are you talking all funny, Xander?"

"Yeah, I'm still here too, Cordy." Xander calmed her. "I'm just sharing my body with a friend now. He-"

"She." Buffy coughed.

"Fine, she's very nice and is helping me with a lot of stuff." Xander explained.

"So you got possessed again? Just to warn you, if you try to eat me, I will smack you so hard, you won't know what hit you." Cordelia wagged a finger at him.

#"It isn't quite like a possession as you understand it. Xander and I have a symbiotic relationship. I require a host to live. In exchange for giving me life, Xander gets a longer life, perfect health, and access to all my knowledge, which is extensive."# Jolinar explained.

"Long life, perfect health?" Cordy perked up. "Where do I sign up?"

"Jo forgot to mention the part where most Tok'ra live in caves and wear a brown uniform." Xander added.

"Wearing brown? Living in a cave? I so don't think so." Cordelia packed her stuff and headed out. On her way, she met Giles coming in. "You can't make me wear brown and live in a cave!" she shouted at the worried and now confused Watcher as she rushed out.

"Is everyone all right?" Giles asked, ignoring Cordelia.

"We're fine. Cordelia just med Jolinar. She was more freaked by that than the zombie that attacked us." Buffy answered.

"Did you say zombie?" Giles requested clarification.

But Buffy had already moved on, "Do the Tok'ra really live in caves?"

"Technically, they're crystal tunnels and they're really nice. Running water and everything. But don't tell Cordelia." Xander clarified.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Giles begged.

"Hello Ripper." Ethan said from the floor where everyone had forgotten him.

"Ethan. I thought I told you to leave town." Giles said darkly.

Ethan just smiled from the floor. "You did. I didn't. Shop's lease is paid till the end of the month."

Willow whispered to Xander, "Why did he call Giles 'Ripper'?"

Giles grabbed Ethan by the hair on the back of his neck and lifted him from the floor.

"Ohhhh..." Willow said nervously.

"You should've left when I told you." Giles warned. "You put these people in danger. People I care about."

"And you should have told us about the zombie, Giles." Buffy reprimanded her watcher.

Ethan smirked. "If you cared so much about them, why didn't you leave town?"

"Shut up you." Buffy socked Ethan in the gut. Tearing him out of Ripper's grasp. "This Eyghon thing is supernatural, right?" she asked her watcher.

"It's complicated, Buffy, and quite frankly, it's private." Giles stated.

"I don't care from private! I care from dead guys attacking us. I care from you drinking alone in your apartment." Buffy countered.

"Umm. Guys?" Xander tried to break in.

"I was just trying to find a solution." Giles replied weakly.

Buffy was adamant. "Giles, share! What is the Mark of Eyghon?"

Giles was suddenly angry. "Hey! This is not your battle! And as your Watcher, I'm telling you unequivocally to stay out of it!"

Jolinar had had enough. He stood and addressed Buffy. #"The Tok'ra recognize Buffy Summers' unique talents in fighting supernatural forces on the Hellmouth. As this battle is clearly supernatural in nature,"# he looked at Giles. #"It is _unequivocally_ Buffy's to fight. You can help or not as you wish. Starting with what that Mark of Eyghon is and then I would suggest finding Mr. Rayne."#

"Ethan escaped? Why didn't you stop him?" Giles charged.

#"Xander tried to warn you. But you were too busy arguing. We didn't go after him because this was more important. You must first have your own house in order before you engage the enemy."# Jolinar explained.

"Nobody's perfect, Rupert. Let us help you." Jenny begged.

Giles' shoulders fell and he swallowed. "But you shouldn't have to. This is my mistake to correct."

"If everyone here had to deal with their own mistakes by themselves. We'd all be dead." Xander said gently. "You helped save us all from our mistakes at least once. We're just trying to return the favor."

Finally Giles broke down and cried. No one said anything but Jenny held him in her arms. Both of the girls patted him on the shoulder in comfort as well. Xander just felt uncomfortable. He hadn't been expecting this. Crying wasn't allowed in his house and he wasn't quite sure what to do.

% You can comfort him, you know. % Jolinar suggested.

/ It's fine for the girls. But not for the guys. / Xander explained.

% Even the Tok'ra cry and comfort each other. % Jolinar stated simply.

Xander considered the wisdom of those words. He might have joined them, except that Giles had already finished.

"Forgive me. I never wanted you to see that side of me." Giles wiped his face.

Buffy smiled, "I'm not gonna lie to you. It was scary. I'm so used to you being a grownup, and then I find out that you're a person."

Jenny squeezed Giles' hand and said, "Most grownups are."

Giles looked at Jenny, "Some are even, uh... shortsighted, foolish people."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "So, after all this time, we finally find out that we do have something in common. Which, apart from being a little weird, is kind of okay. Anyway, what can you tell us about the Mark of Eyghon?"

As Giles explained about the mark. How it worked, how he and some friends had called the demon to get high. And then he explained about how the demon would jump from one dead or unconscious body to the next to continue living.

"So, if say Ethan Rayne were unconscious near where the puddle of goo that used to be your friend Phillip was, Is it possible that he is now possessed by Eyghon?" Xander asked.

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Tell me you didn't knock him unconscious."

"Well, you didn't tell us not to knock anyone out, did you?" Xander defended himself. "Not sure how we would have known better unless you had told us earlier."

"Okay." Willow played peacemaker. "It's nobody's fault. We just need to find Ethan and...?"

"Well that would depend on whether the demon has completely possessed him or not." Giles temporized. "If he has been possessed, then there's nothing that can save Ethan he can be slayed like any other demon or vampire. If we find him soon enough, the demon can be moved to another dead or unconscious body. But that would only be a delaying measure and quite frankly, I'm not willing to risk an innocent person's life to save the likes of Ethan Rayne."

"Well, without him, I wouldn't have Jolinar." Xander reasoned. "I know it might be risky, but if I can get a dead body, I'd like to try and save the idiot."

"Yeah, but it's not like there's a lot of dead bodies just walking around." Buffy quipped.

Xander just looked at her and smiled.

* * *

><p>"You know. You're not the brightest demon we've ever faced. Coming back the costume shop like this made it almost too-" Xander was cut off as the malformed body that was once Ethan Rayne backhanded him across the room. He crashed into a concrete wall.<p>

"Xander!" Buffy cried.

"We're fine. Get Ethan." Jolinar assured her. They weren't. But they would heal.

Watching the other two fight the demon, it occurred to Xander that they weren't quite up to Buffy or Angel's level yet. Not in this form anyway. He gripped his sword and stood up. If the fight came this way, they could at least get a cheap shot in.

/ Well, we're no good like this. What if we merge? / Xander wondered.

% Won't do any good now. Hold still I'm trying to repair us before the fight is over. Once we're fixed, then it might be an idea. % Jolinar offered. Angel and Buffy got the demon down and Angel was choking it. % Too late now. Wait. Hold still! I'm not done with the repairs yet. See if anyone has any food. And next time remember not to go into battle without an energy bar. % Jolinar half joked.

Soon the battle was over, the demon jumped to Angel and the internal struggle between the two demons was on.

After it was over, Xander sat down gingerly and asked if anyone had any food. Willow offered him some granola, which he was very thankful for. Willow blushed when she gave it to him.

"You knew that if the demon was in trouble it was gonna jump into the nearest dead person." Buffy complimented.

"And that Angel had a demon inside of him just itching for a fight." Xander finished.

"I put it in danger. And it jumped." Angel stated.

"Winner and still champion." Buffy smiled and took Angel's arm.

"Ethan got away again." Xander frowned a little. Any debt he owed the slimy man for giving him Jolinar was certainly paid now. He finished his granola. But waited until Jolinar's go before he let Buffy help him to his feet. "I think I'm going to skip training tonight, Angel."

* * *

><p>To anyone viewing from space, Sunnydale that night was an incredibly interesting place. The Vampire Slayer was hunting for vampires. There were vampires hunting for a male Slayer and the Initiative. And the Initiative was hunting for a Vampire Slayer.<p>

Although the 3rd group was only out for observation of said Slayer. They were armed with the 1st generation of reverse engineered Zat guns. They were big, bulky, heavy, and they sometimes killed with one shot. They were also very slow to recharge. Relying on heavy battery packs and capacitors to achieve the effect the Goa'uld did in a much smaller package. You had to make every shot count with this type of weapon. Still Captain Turner decided it was better than the brig. And as the leader of his team, he was allotted a real Zat. Many times, that was the thing that allowed his team to come back at all when their stun weapons failed. And they had yet to bring home living samples. Luckily it was demon bodies they brought back and usually not his teammates, but it was hard going when their guns weren't reliable enough. The need to make fast retreats far too often meant that they rarely got outside the University grounds.

* * *

><p>The vampires the Deputy Mayor sent to scout the military base on campus weren't doing so well. They had run into some soldiers and lost two of their number. The three un-dusted vamps decided to try another way around. Going up against the soldiers was dangerous, but returning without the info they were sent for would be suicide.<p>

Finally, they found a door in the middle of nowhere that hadn't been there a month ago. One vamp was sent back with news of the door to the mayor. The other two were continuing on to see what was beyond.

* * *

><p>Maggie Walsh actually smiled when the perimeter breach warning flashed on the screen. So far, the incompetent teams that went out had brought back only bodies and news that their guns turned vampires to dust with one shot. She could really only learn so much about these beings from deceased samples. She had scoffed when the first team had brought her ash they claimed had been the creature that attacked them. She hadn't run any test on it until another team brought back two more samples. She had to admit it was fascinating in a grotesque way.<p>

Now as the two creatures came down the shaft, she gave orders for them to be taken alive. Sensors in the shaft showed that the creatures had no body heat, which meant vampires. She ordered two packets of blood to be opened in two different cages and that all personnel evacuated the main level. If the fancy toys the government gave their soldiers didn't work, then she would resort to tried and true methods. She very much didn't feel that the men at the base where 'her' men. They could never be hers.

The traps worked and the two vampires were caught. They drained the packets of blood they were given, then spread bloody hand prints all over the nice clean cages they were in. Maggie thought it was an apt metaphor. She had walked right into the nice clean cage Colonel Maybourne offered her and now she was trapped. A monster trapped by other monsters. She wondered if they would study her like she studied them.

For now, they had some vampires to study and orders were orders. They'd run as many tests as they could think of before the final test. Which was to hit the vampire with progressively stronger shocks from the electric guns until it exploded and then test the second to last setting on the other to make sure it would bring the beasts down in one shot.

* * *

><p>The problem with long solo space flights was the boredom. Even with a symbiote to talk to, there just wasn't enough to do. Anything other than games of chance were boring as well since both sides knew the others plans.<p>

Martouf sighed and laid down to nap... again.


	13. Chapter 18

Chapter 18.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>"Well, gosh. Those soldiers sure are efficient. They could probably show the Slayer a thing or two. And are we sure that the report of the Male Slayer wasn't about these gentlemen?" the Mayor asked his Deputy.<p>

"Well sir, we only have that one report of the Male Slayer and you dusted him already. For now, I'd say we focus on this military base as the biggest threat to us." Finch replied.

"Are they?" the Mayor asked.

"Are they what?" Allan replied.

"A threat to us?" Wilkins continued.

Finch fidgeted a bit as he thought. "Well, they killed four out of five vampires that we sent. That certainly puts them on par with the Slayer when she first arrived. And there's only ever one Slayer. But this might only be the beginning for a military base. The demons are already starting to stay away from campus. It puts them closer to the Slayer, but I guess they'll take their chances with one Slayer."

"Darn." The Mayor swore (at least for the Mayor), "Okay. Forget the Male Slayer. Forget everything except my Ascension and keeping an eye on this base. They're military? Military means patterns. Send someone out to observe them for the next couple of weeks. Once we know their pattern, then we'll hit them."

Finch nodded before he left to carry out his orders.

* * *

><p>Xander sighed. It had certainly been an exciting week. Halloween followed by SG-1's visit followed by Billy Fordham followed by Eyghon. Xander laid in the sun in the park and swore to not move from this spot until sunset. This plan was quickly broken by severe hunger pains.<p>

/ Gah. Anyone ever told you you're like a baby? _Feed me. Feed me._ Oh, what was that movie with the plant? / Xander thought as he grudgingly got up.

% You keep injuring yourself. I've been very close to completion for a while but you keep getting hurt. % Jolinar sighed. % One more trip to the buffet and I should be done. Then there will be no reason for extra food unless you hurt yourself. Again. And again. And again. %

/ Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I'm seeing the pattern there. / Xander snarked.

% I hope so. I've certainly noticed it. Tell me, is every week as interesting as this one was? % Jolinar asked.

/ No. Sometimes there's actual danger. / Xander smirked. / Really. This was a busy week I'll grant you, but only Eyghon posed even a small threat. /

% And yet, you managed to get yourself hurt again. % Jolinar observed.

/ Which you, my wonderful symbiote, were kind enough to fix. / Xander complimented.

% All I'm saying is that maybe you could take it easy for a while? % Jolinar offered.

/ Not a bad idea. / Xander stopped walking. / What do you think? Should we raid Giles' fridge instead and get him to pay us our money? We could spend the day building that healing device instead of training? /

Xander felt himself turn. % Giles' place it is. % Jolinar said. They flubbed the handoff and stumbled a bit when Xander took over walking again. % Every skill needs training. % Jolinar observed. So they tripped and stumbled their way to Giles' apartment as they traded taking control from each other while walking. Though by the time they got there, they weren't falling down any more.

"Morning Ripper!" Xander said cheerily and with a bad British accent.

"Good morning," Giles stood aside and allowed Xander to enter. "Your accent is atrocious and never call me that again." he said seriously.

"It was worth a shot." Xander shrugged.

Giles shook his head. "You did see what I did to the last person who called me that?"

"That could have been him more than the name. He wasn't the nicest of guys." Xander observed.

"Quite. What can I do for you?" Giles asked.

"Well, I'd love some food if you have it and hopefully the money you promised too?" Xander explained their visit.

Giles waved to the kitchen. "Help yourself to some snacks. I'll go get your money." He called from the bedroom, "Doesn't your friend help you with food and such?"

"Well, I keep getting injured. Apparently all the food we eat goes to keeping me on my feet." Xander said as he ate quickly. There was no telling how long Giles would be gone, but he tried to take in as much food as possible before he came back. He even took some of those protein bars. Stuffing them in his pockets for later.

"Here you go. $300 as promised. A little later than promised, but I trust you understand the circumstances?" Giles said as he rounded the corner.

Xander finished swallowing the food he was eating and nodded. "What about the sword reward?" he asked as he took the money.

"I've put in the request with the council. I should know in a few days. I'll call them Friday morning if they haven't approved it by then." Giles answered.

"Okay, Jolinar and I are going to hit the buffet and then Radioshed for some parts. I'll be at Willow's if you need me." Xander said as he walked to the door.

"Yes, well hopefully one quiet day after the week we've had isn't too much to ask." Giles replied as Xander left.

* * *

><p>They were on their seventh plate at the buffet when Xander suddenly felt full.<p>

Jolinar breathed a sigh of contentment. % We're done. %

/ Alright. Lets finish this plate and get out of here. / Xander decided.

Priority number one scratched off his to-do list.

/ How do you feel? / Xander asked as they walked.

% It's hard to explain. It's like I've been hobbling around with only one leg and now the other one has been regrown. I can show you what I mean tonight. Angel will be quite surprised. % Jolinar teased.

At Radioshed, Jolinar took over. He asked the salesman all sorts of questions that Xander barely followed. In the end Jolinar only bought a few of the things that he had asked about. Those things were really expensive though. They ate through most of the $300 they had just gotten.

/ Okay, now to Willow's? / Xander asked as he took control with only a slight stutter step.

% No. We didn't have enough money for everything we need. We'll have to stop by the school first. We'll have to borrow some supplies. % Jolinar took control smoothly and took the next turn to the school.

Xander decided to just sit back and enjoy the ride for now. He figured it was kind of like riding a horse. Except that the horse he was riding was himself. It was odd, but not bad. Plus he got time to think about other things. He went over the plans for the healing device in Jolinar's memory. It was really cool and after listening to Jolinar's questioning of the salesman, he actually had an idea of how the thing was going to be built. How it worked? He was still clueless. The power supply was going to be the biggest problem. Liquid naquadah is very hard to come by on Earth.

They were already at the school when Xander came out of his thoughts. They were walking around the halls when Xander heard someone coming. Xander waited for Jolinar to turn into the next room. When he didn't, Xander took control and dove into the next room himself and quietly shut the door.

/ Couldn't you hear that someone was coming? / Xander practically hissed.

% I was thinking about other things. % Jolinar explained.

/ Fine, then give me control. You can think all you want then. Because in Sunnydale, not paying attention will get us killed. Okay? / Xander tried to explain the danger they were in.

Joinar sighed. % I apologize. %

/ Don't be sorry. Just don't do it again. Because the next time it might mean our neck. And I'm perfectly happy to do the moving around while you do your thinking. / Xander admonished. He was silent for a moment. / Okay, sounds like the coast is clear. Did you hear who it was or what they said? /

% It was Principal Snyder. He was complaining to someone else that food was being stolen. % Jolinar informed him.

/ A kid dies at school and not so much as a memo is sent out, but a can of fruit gets stolen and suddenly it's an emergency. / Xander stated sarcastically. / Well, I'm glad he took action and fixed the problem. Because I feel safer now. /

Next they went to the computer lab and accessed the DMV website. They were able to get the name of the person who owned the car the vamps drove the other night. They searched his name and came up with his license info. The picture on the license looked suspiciously like one of the vamps from last night. Xander decided he had no trouble stealing from vampires so the car was his now. He'd have Jolinar sign the title for him tonight.

Xander maintained control and got them to the AV room, where Jolinar grabbed several small rolls of wire and threw them in their Radioshed bag. He also grabbed a case of electrician's supplies. Then Xander led them out of the school safely and on to Willow's house.

"Hey Xander." Willow gave him a hug. "I was just about to make lunch. You guys want some?"

Xander decided he could eat and agreed. It wasn't until they were in the kitchen that what she said hit home. "You said, 'you guys'." he smiled.

Willow blushed and shrugged. "Well, I didn't want to leave anyone out." she explained nervously.

#"That is very kind of you Willow."# Jolinar bowed. This time Willow actually smiled (still blushing) at hearing his voice.

After a quick lunch of microwaved hotdogs, they went down to Willow's basement. Down there, Willow had her own workbench, with all of the tools that they had just stolen from school and a bunch of other electronic equipment including two computer cases. "Come on. This where I build all my circuits. I've built radios and even a basic computer chip." Willow's face rose at the last part but fell quickly. "But it's too big to use in anything and I'm probably boring you since you're used to some really great alien tech."

#"You aren't boring me at all. In fact, I find it fascinating. Your technology isn't even as primitive as I had first thought. It's almost completely different from ours, except that both use electricity and circuits. This will be a fun challenge. And I was hoping you could help me."# Jolinar offered.

Willows eyes went wide as she squeaked, "Me!?" _An alien was asking was asking for her help._ She focused on remaining standing and not fainting as her knees suddenly went weak.

#"Of course. Xander tells me that you are a genius. And doubly so when it comes to this kind of stuff. So, if you have some paper, I would like to draw some circuit diagrams and have you build them for us. Do you think you could do that?"# Jolinar asked.

Jolinar hadn't even finished speaking when Willow grabbed a large pad of paper and a pencil and thrust them into their hands. "Yes please." she was practically hopping with excitement.

They got to working right away. Jolinar drew the first circuit and gave it to Willow who started building it. Jolinar watched her for a while, then apparently satisfied with her progress, sat down to draw more circuits. After four circuits total, he stopped drawing.

Willow looked up from her circuit and flipped back the magnifying visor she was wearing. "Can I ask you something?"

"Please," Jolinar nodded using Xander's voice again.

"Well, why aren't you building these? I mean, it's awesome that you're letting me help, but do you really need me?" Willow questioned.

Jolinar smiled. "Actually yes. It's just like any other skill. You didn't become so good at building circuits just by reading a book. I have the knowledge, but these hands have zero experience. So, either I can do it myself and ruin a number of boards along the way. Or I can practice for a long time and then do it myself. Or I can swallow my not inconsiderable pride and ask for help." Jolinar paused and took a deep breath. "Speaking of my pride, there's a problem I can't solve. The power supply for this is completely unavailable. If you can think of a way of powering it when we're done, I'd be really grateful."

Willow lowered her magnifying headband and turned back to her work. "Yeah, I suppose you can't just plug it in."

Jolinar was silent for a moment, but it was Xander who jumped up and yelled, "Willow you're a genius!"

Luckily Willow's soldering iron was no where near the circuit when he yelled or when he picked her up and hugged her, much to Willow's blushing pleasure.

"It just never occurred to us. We'll need more equipment to allow for that. Rectifiers, I think they're called on Earth. But the point is, we can do it and it's all thanks to you!" Xander exclaimed as he hugged his best friend. Willow's face turned as red as her hair.

* * *

><p>Xander called Giles and asked him to come to Willow's. He would have told him over the phone, but he really didn't trust the NID. He didn't know if the NID were watching them yet, but he didn't want to take any chances. At least he hadn't noticed any suspicious vans around town yet. He calmed himself with the thought that it wasn't paranoia if they really were out to get you.<p>

When Giles arrived, Xander practically accosted him and dragged him down to the basement. "Xander, I don't understand what any of this is." Giles complained.

"This is the start of a Goa'uld healing device. We're talking healing almost anything. Anything short of death anyway." Xander said excitedly.

"Any injury?"

"Cuts, broken bones, internal bleeding, heck, it might even be able to save that bastard Ford." Xander counted off the numerous uses. "Which brings me to the two things I need from you. Number 1; money. Maybe I could borrow against the reward the council is sending? I haven't pushed the issue before because we had a major roadblock to building this. We couldn't power it, until now. Willow figured out the solution. Tell him." he waved for Willow to explain her contribution.

Giles raised his eyebrows in wonder, _Willow had figured out what an apparently advanced alien hadn't? _

Willow flashed between her natural shyness and pride at having figured out the solution, even if it was obvious to her. "We plug it in. You see Goa'uld keep their followers low tech so that their high tech seems like magic and they can claim to be gods." Willow paraphrased what Jolinar had already taught her. "Plugging in a Goa'uld device just isn't possible cause there's nowhere on a Goa'uld planet to plug one in."

"Okay. You have a magical healing device, but you need money to finish it. How much and what was the other thing you need?" Giles interrupted.

"We need $5,000 to finish this." Xander let that sink in for a second before continuing. "And we'd like you to find Ford once we're done."

"Ford is gone Xander. If he wasn't eaten already, then he's probably left Sunnydale. And why would you want him anyway?" Giles inquired.

"Gonna need a test subject." Xander explained. "I'd rather it were one that I didn't mind whether it lived or died."

Giles nodded. He certainly understood Xander's sentiments. "$5,000 is a lot of money. The reward I asked for from the council was only $3,000 and I'm only expecting $2,000"

"Well if it works, you can make Ford pay you back. I'm sure he'd be wiling to pay $3,000 to live." Xander reasoned. He tried not to react to the fact that the reward for bringing back that sword was $2,000.

"How much do you need today?" Giles asked.

"We could probably do everything in two days. Three or four if we go to school." Xander explained.

"Xander!" Willow was shocked that he was suggesting that they cut class. Okay, not shocked that he was thinking about it, but shocked that he would suggest that she could. Even more shocked that she was considering it. School was school and was very important. Wasn't it? But this was Alien Technology! How many opportunities like this was she going to get in her life time? Besides the fact that she already had all the homework for the rest of the school year done.

Xander watched Willow's face as the 'old Willow' died and a new one was born. Because the old Willow he knew would never have even considered skipping class for any reason. He was pretty sure that a vampire Willow would have gone to school too.

"Tell you what, with $2,000 we could finish all the work we have today and then we can see if we have the materials to go on. If we don't have the equipment, then there's no sense in even thinking about missing class." Xander said to calm the internal debate in his best friend.

Willow sighed in relief. She didn't have to choose yet.

"Would you like me to cut you a check?" Giles decided that this was certainly worth the risk. If he was lucky he'd keep meticulous records and get his expenses reimbursed by the Council.

"Hopefully not." Xander said. "I may be paranoid, but the NID is still in town. Checks leave a trail. Cash doesn't. If you can get cash, I can make a list and the three of us can go into Radioshed one at a time and get what we need without attracting too much attention or leaving a trail."

Giles motioned to the stairs up, "Shall we then?"

* * *

><p>"Alright people. Report." General Hammond ordered.<p>

Daniel stood in front of the projector. Rupert Giles' face came up. "Okay, first up. Dr. Rupert Giles. PHD in History and the Occult from Oxford University. He's a British citizen but has his green card. What's notable about that is that he received it very quickly. It took only a week." Jackson looked around the room. "This is a process that normally takes months. Sometimes years. The fact that he got it so quickly tells us that he has some sort of political connections. Either here or in Britain. Which is very suspicious. People with powerful political connections and Doctorates in... anything, don't normally take jobs as high school librarians." Daniel paused to let the information sink in. "We also can't access his records in Britain. They're sealed. It would take some political maneuvering to get them released. We'd probably have to tell them why we want them. And that probably isn't worth it in my opinion." Daniel sat down and handed the remote to O'Neill.

"Thank you Dr. Jackson." Hammond said as the man sat down.

"Next up is Alexander "Xander" Harris." Jack said as Xander's goofy face appeared on screen. "Parents are Anthony and Jessica Harris. Both work in the booming field of mortuary science. Booming, at least in Sunnydale. Credit card records shows more money is spent on alcohol than food. Hospital records show.." Jack took a deep breath and focused on _not_ crushing the remote. "at least some history of abuse. Both Jessica and Xander have had more than their fair share of trips to the hospital. Too many falls down the stairs. It seemed to drop off in middle school but has picked back up again as of last year." Jack hadn't been terribly sympathetic to whomever was doing this hacking, he didn't like to be jerked around. But it was hard not to feel sorry for a kid raised by abusive parents in a town where the life expectancy was 31. He sat down and passed the remote across the table to Teal'c.

The big man stood. "In our searching the pasts of the students. We discovered that Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris had another friend." Teal'c hit the remote and Jesse's face came up on screen. "Jesse McNally. Was mentioned often in conjunction with Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris until last year, when he disappeared and was presumed dead. Not long after Buffy Summers arrived."

"Is it possible that she killed him?" Hammond asked.

"It's unlikely, sir." Carter answered. "These disappearances have been going on since before she was born."

"Yes, it's more likely that the two friends sort of adopted the new kid, Buffy after their friend passed. It's not an uncommon phenomenon."

"Thank you Teal'c" Hammond said as he sat down and passed the remote to Carter.

"Next up is Willow Rosenberg." Sam said as she flipped to a picture of the girl. "Parents are Dr.s Ira and Sheila Rosenberg."

"Really?" Daniel interrupted.

"Do you know them?" the general asked.

"I know _of_ them. But we don't run in the same circles. They're psychologists. And from what I've heard, they've been on tour almost continuously for the past ten years or so." Daniel clarified.

"Thirteen." Carter corrected.

"Yes, they're synonymous with phrase quantity over quality. They're almost as big a joke in psychological circles as I am in archeological. I never realized they had a daughter, do they take her with them on tour?" Daniel wondered.

Sam shook her head and pursed her lips. "No. She's had almost perfect attendance. Which means she's lived alone for most of her life. She's also had perfect grades. And she's genius level smart. There are tracks on her file. There's a couple of software concerns that are already looking to hire her and she isn't even out of high school yet."

"How smart are we talking?" Hammond asked for clarification.

"There's really no way to test. Off the charts, we used to say. Suffice to say, whatever she decides to put her mind to, she will accomplish." Carter paused. "Which leads me to some other points. With her intelligence and skill with computers. It's very possible that she's one of the hackers the FBI traced back to Sunnydale."

"Is it possible that she hacked us and got the information to access the other site that way?" Hammond offered.

"No sir. Not only was most of the information that Xander had not available online, Willow would have left traces of her attack. Even the FBI found traces of her previous hacks. She's good. Just not as good as she thinks, yet. But that leads to my other point. She is very good already. I would like to try recruiting her. Get her out of that town and out of the NID's hands." Sam requested.

"You want me to authorize you to recruit a hacker?" the general seemed a bit worried.

"_Suspected_ hacker. And neither of the hackers in Sunnydale has done anything to warrant action yet. Just going places they shouldn't be. Harmless kid's pranks for now. I'd like to recruit her now before anything escalates. Because, with a couple years of NID training, she probably _could _hack our servers." Carter clarified.

"I'll take it under advisement Captain." the general allowed.

Sam passed the remote back to Daniel. "Which leaves Buffy Summers. The supposed ringleader of the group. Up until two years ago, she had no file. Cheerleader, prom princess, typical California teen. Then she allegedly burned down her high school gymnasium. Claimed it was infested with vampires. When nothing but ashes were found, she was sent to a mental institution for a few months." Daniel cringed at that thought. "A few months later, she claimed that she made the vampires up and they let her out. Apparently this put a strain on her parents' relationship and Hank and Joyce Summers divorced. Her father stayed in LA while she and her mother went to Sunnydale. Her mother owns an art gallery on Main street. Of all the people that we've looked at today. She does have the sketchiest record. She's had attendance issues and has been involved in a number fights, though more independent sources than principal Snyder list her as stopping the fights. Usually with force."

"With force?" O'Neill asked as disbelievingly as he could. He'd seen her fight, after all. He looked at the file in front of him. "She's 5'2" and I doubt she weighs more than a hundred pounds."

"Size is not always the measure of strength, O'Neill." Teal'c added.

"Yeah. But it's a pretty good predictor." O'Neill gave him a glare. They weren't supposed to know about Buffy.

Daniel jumped in before Teal'c could reply. "Yeah. I think I'm going to interpret force here to mean blackmail and other means."

Teal'c thankfully remained silent.

"Okay people. Good work." General Hammond complimented. "I'll look this over in more detail later. Your next mission is to P7J-989. The MALP sent back some beautiful images."

* * *

><p>AN: The movie Xander was thinking of was Little Shop of Horrors. (1986)

P7J-989 The Game Keeper.


	14. Chapter 19

Chapter 19.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p> Mo Money Mo Problems. / Xander observed to his symbiote. Giles had gotten the needed money from the one bank branch in town with limited hours on Sundays. They had gone to Radioshed and Jolinar had given them each a list of items to acquire. Unfortunately, the lists were written in Xander's handwriting. Both Giles and Willow had come back with incorrect parts, which wasn't discovered until they got to Willow's place. That required a drive back to the shop to exchange them for the right parts before they could begin. Giles was completely out of his element and Xander had taken a perverse pleasure in sending the man for donuts.

% What does ' Mo Money Mo Problems' mean? % Jolinar asked.

/ It means that money doesn't solve your problems. It only creates new ones. / Xander explained.

% I suppose. Unless your problem is a lack of money. In which case it probably does solve that problem. % the symbiote deadpanned.

/ Yeah, yeah. You're Earth's funniest Tok'ra. / Xander quipped. / Just keep your mind on your work. If we blow this, we probably wont get any more money. /

% I'm Earth's only Tok'ra at the moment. % Jolinar observed.

Xander just smiled.

"What is it?" Willow asked.

"Oh Jolinar and I were just quipping back and forth. I won." Xander explained.

Willow pouted. "There was a quip war and I was left out?"

"Sorry Will. You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me." Xander joked. "Hey, I'm just happy that I'm able to help with this part. Wiring on a larger scale like this is much easier for my clumsy hands."

Willow smiled. "I am a little jealous. You got some cool new powers and I'm still plain, old Willow. But, we make a good team. You take the tedious grunt work and I'll take the tedious delicate work and pretty soon we'll have something amazing." She then flipped her magnifying visor down and started working on the next rectifier. They needed rectifiers to convert the household A/C current into direct current the device could use. They needed a lot of the things because they had to tap the power on 6 circuits to avoid tripping any breakers and/or frying the wiring. They each had to be specially built because the commercially available ones only went up to 12 volts and that wouldn't be enough to heal a paper cut.

"You've never been plain, old Willow." Xander assured her. "You're a genius. Jolinar wouldn't have asked for your help otherwise. And you're my friend."

Willow was silent while she worked and Xander went back to work himself.

"I was wondering something," Willow looked up from her work again. "When you guys combined, was it like being Trill? Where you guys share all your memories to become a new being? I mean without the cold hands and everything." Willow asked.

"Not exactly." Xander answered. "I mean we have access to each other's memories but we haven't become different people."

#"I disagree."# Jolinar put in. #"Though we haven't become one new consciousness like the Trill of your show, blending with Xander has changed both of us greatly. I myself have become far more easy going than I used to be, even just a few months ago. And Xander has found a new measure of patience, especially in regards to Angel. And though he won't admit it, perhaps a measure of respect for your vampire friend."#

"Keep it down would you? We can't have Deadboy finding stuff like that out." Xander admonished.

Willow was fascinated by the conversation. Which, she supposed was the answer to her questions. Trill didn't talk to themselves like that.

They broke for donuts when Giles got back and worked late into the night. Xander finished with his part around 11 and forced Willow to stop as well. "Come on Wills. We don't have enough money for the parts we'd need to work all day tomorrow. We might as well call it quits now, go to school tomorrow, and get back to work after that." Xander gave her an out to go to school _and_ do the work. Willow sleepily agreed and Xander helped her up to her room before letting himself out.

% So? To Angel's place? % Jolinar asked. % Now that I'm strong again, I'd like to show Angel what we're capable of. %

/ Sure. / Xander shrugged and started heading that way.

Halfway there Jolinar took control, stopped walking and crouched down. % Wait. %

/ What is it? / Xander asked. He'd been paying attention but hadn't seen or heard anything.

A flash of their eyes and night turned to day. It was suddenly very easy to see the vampires lying in wait. Only they weren't waiting for Xander, they had their backs to him and were focused on a team of three, no make it four, soldiers. They, in turn, were watching something else.

/ Well, Willow will be pleased to get an answer to her question. Who will watch the watchers? Turns out that it's vampires. / Xander joked.

% You have the oddest ideas. Do you think those soldiers are NID? % Jolinar wondered.

/ I wouldn't bet against it. / Xander guessed. / But I'm more curious what it is that they're tracking. /

Sensing movement, they let their eyes glow again. What they were tracking was clear as day. Buffy.

/ Okay. I have to say. That's a bit disconcerting. / Xander admitted. / And Carter's memories are telling me that we have to improve our team communications. Shortwave radios at least. Maybe cellphones too. It's time to stop leaving Buffy alone on a limb. /

% That's a good idea for the future. What do we do right now, though? % Jolinar queried.

/ We watch. We're too outnumbered to try to take either group alone and we don't know anything about the soldiers. As long as they don't make a move, we won't make a move. / Xander decided after accessing Carter's memories.

It was a long night though. Trying to follow vampires in the dark without alerting them to their presence was tough. Xander's body lacked the skills necessary to do so closely and had to follow at a good distance, where the noise they made was ignored by the vamps. Luckily, to make up for it, they could see much better than anyone else out that night. Though Xander found himself wishing for a pocket spotting scope to help see the weapons of the soldiers better. They weren't anything he could recognize from any of his memories.

He was so focused on watching the others that he almost missed Angel sneaking up on him. He shushed Angel with a finger to his lips before Angel could give their position away. Through a series of not regulation and not ASL signs, he was able to get through to Angel that there were 5 vampires watching 4 soldiers, who were watching Buffy. Though he ended up just having to mouth her name.

Angel mouthed 'Well?' back.

Xander pointed to Angel, then to Buffy and then steepled his hands to tell him to take her home. He told him that he would watch their backs.

Angel considered for a moment before nodding. He backed away before starting down the sidewalk towards Buffy. Xander thought he was walking a little stiffly, like someone who knew he was being watched, but hoped the others couldn't see it in the dark.

"Angel!" cried Buffy and gave him a hug and a peck. Xander couldn't help that his stomach tightened and turned at seeing her kiss Angel.

% I thought you and Angel were getting along? % Jolinar asked.

/ We are. And I'll admit that he has his uses. But we're not friends and he's still a vampire. Buffy is the Vampire Slayer and needs to remember that fact. / Xander said a little darkly.

% The soldiers seem to be breaking off. Should we follow them or Buffy? % Jolinar wondered.

/ The soldiers. Buffy and Angel can take care of everything else that might be out tonight. / Xander stated firmly.

They followed the soldiers back to the college campus. A door so well camouflaged that Xander didn't even see it with his night vision until it was opened. Once the soldiers were gone, the vamps headed off in a group. Xander figured he might as well keep following the vamps. They were certainly up to something too. When they walked into City Hall like they owned the place, Xander was... well surprised wasn't the word. In Sunnydale, the idea that they might literally have to fight city hall was odd, but not odd for Sunnydale. And it certainly qualified as an odd night. Even by Sunnydale standards.

* * *

><p>Well that certainly was a pickle. The soldiers his men had watched spent their whole night watching the Slayer. Why they were watching the Slayer, no one could guess. Then again, vampires weren't known for deep thinking. He'd bounce this information off of Allan in the morning. That boy was bright. Too nervous by far, but bright as a star. If the soldiers were after the Slayer, she might be willing to make a deal. Sure they weren't on the same side, but being dissected by the military wasn't on either of their to-do lists. He made a note to bounce that idea off Allan as well. Then it was time to go home. It would be a busy day tomorrow.<p>

* * *

><p>P7J-989 was a very nice planet at first glance. Beautiful plants, beautiful gardens, just no people. And then SG-1 got sucked into some type of stasis pods and were forced to live out the most painful memories of their pasts.<p>

All in all, Jack could think of better ways to spend a day.

* * *

><p>"Great. So I've got a bunch of soldiers stalking me and they have a bunch of vampires stalking them, who apparently report to city hall?" Buffy summarized what Xander had just told her. She, Xander, and Angel were all in her bedroom after midnight. "I don't suppose your soldier recognized any of the other soldiers?"<p>

Xander shook his head. "Camouflage makeup. But that does remind me of something else. Radios. I had no way to tell you about the soldiers because I had no way to contact you. All three of us should wear radios every night. Giles too. That way, Angel and I can patrol alone and call you for backup when we find something. With Giles monitoring everything from his car to provide quick extraction if we need it."

"Xander, you just said 'quick' to describe Giles' car. I think you want to pick a different word." Buffy complained.

Xander looked at Angel. "Well, if we can convince him, we have that car from the blood heist still. It looks like one of the vamps owned it. Forge a signature on the title and Giles could have a much faster car. Convertible too." turning back to Buffy, "you might need to convince him though. I'll get the radios tomorrow. I'll be busy after school working on a project with Willow. So, I'll give you Angel's in school. Give me a call if you need backup."

Buffy gave Xander a patronizing smile. She liked Xander and he had some good moves, but there was no way she was calling him for backup in a fight. "What color is it?"

Xander sighed. _Why was the color important? _ "Blue."

"Okay. That'll do." Buffy nodded.

"Great." Xander said, "And watch out for those soldiers. Odds are they're NID. Which makes them the bad part of the military. Don't be afraid to show them who's boss if you have to." Xander warned. "And running away is the usually the wisest choice when you're outnumbered."

* * *

><p>Xander retired for the night without training with Angel after all. It was already late and he had to get up early now to get the radios before school. He grabbed some food from Buffy's fridge before he left.<p>

He got home and took the back stairs directly down to his room. A quick change and he was asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

* * *

><p>Xander woke early and made his way back to Radioshed again. He had enough money left for 2 two packs of radios. A 5 mile range should cover the entire city more or less. It might get fuzzy from the docks to the eastern city limits, but they would have to do. Then he stopped by the post office just after it opened and mailed a package to Samantha Carter, same day service. After that, he jogged to school. He got to the library about when Giles arrived.<p>

"Xander. I wasn't sure you would be coming today. How fares your project?" Giles greeted his student.

"We decided that we don't have enough parts to make working through school worth it." Xander answered. Then set his bag on the table and pulled out the radios, still in their packages. "Which I will come back to. But after we were done, I ran into a patrol of vampires. They weren't looking for me or even Buffy, they were watching some soldiers who were actually watching Buffy. My best guess is that the soldiers were NID. And I really don't like the fact that they were watching her. So I got us these." Xander opened the packages as he spoke. He plugged both of the dual charging stations in and put 2 radios in each. "We need to communicate better as a team."

Before Xander could go on, Giles stepped in. "I'm sorry Xander, that's just not the way it works. The Slayer works alone."

"Not any more." Xander challenged. "Sorry Giles. But against vamps that might have been good enough. But against the military? They'll eat her alive. Every army since Alexander the Great has proved one thing over and over again. Working together makes you stronger than any individual."

"Xander. I realize you're... special now, but I have training that you do not." Giles insisted.

"And I have military training that you don't have. If you don't do this, they'll take her and you won't even know she's gone until she doesn't show up for class the next morning. You won't hear a word. There won't be a trace. She'll just be gone. Eventually another Slayer will show up." Xander felt a little guilty playing on the watcher's fears like that, but the possibility was very real.

Giles sat down and took off his glasses. He didn't say anything, but eventually nodded to Xander.

Once Giles was ready, Xander continued, "I've got four radios. You, me, Angel and Buffy each get one. Buffy will patrol just like she normally does. But now Angel and I can patrol nearby and cover 3 times the ground with less risk since we can call Buffy in for backup. And you'll be nearby in your car ready to extract us if everything goes pear-shaped." Xander paused. "Speaking of which. Buffy thinks you need a new car." Xander held off Giles' interruption, "Now, I happen to have a blue convertible, that's much faster and cooler than your current car. Now it's last owner is blowing in the wind and it has a signed title. All you have to do is register it. In exchange, you can pay me what the car is worth after you sell your car. That way Willow and I can finish the healing device. Now don't answer now. Wait until you've seen the car. Okay?"

"I really do not want a new car, Xander." Giles insisted.

"I know, but Buffy wants you to have a new car. You just try saying 'no' to her." Xander smiled.

"I have. It didn't do any good as I recall."

"Maybe you could think about it as funding the healing device?" Xander offered. "And the car is just a bonus?"

"Perhaps." Giles put his glasses back on and stood up. "Shall we shelve this until later? How about some sword play?"

Xander went to the book cage and picked out the swords.

After a half hour, Jolinar asked, #"Mr. Giles. Would you mind if _we_ fenced a bit? I'm strong again and eager to test my skills."#

Giles was a bit surprised. It was easy to forget that Xander was no longer just Xander any more. "Umm. Yes. Yes, I suppose." Giles took an en garde stance and nodded to Jolinar to begin.

Jolinar did so with speed that surprised Giles, pushing him back. Xander certainly wasn't going nearly this fast. Every bit as fast as Giles himself was capable of going and maybe a bit faster. But it was rough. The moves were still the basic moves he had taught Xander and a few more he supposed Angel had taught them. They also lacked the smoothness than came from years of practice. Giles recovered from the shock of Jolinar's speed and started pushing the alien back again. The opportunity soon presented itself and he disarmed his opponent.

"Well now. That was certainly well done. You are quite quick. Is that a part of the symbiosis?" Giles wondered a little out of breath.

#"As a symbiote, I give my host a boost in strength, speed and intelligence. However, we didn't recognize that move you used on us. Could you teach us?"# Jolinar replied.

"Yes. I suppose. Though not today." Giles looked up at the clock. Students would be arriving soon.

* * *

><p>Maggie Walsh frowned as she watched the footage in front of her. Her "superiors" had ordered her to recruit this young girl into the Initiative. The footage showed a very impressive fighter. She'd dispatched two single vampires that night with enough ease to make up puns and jokes while she fought. Maggie, at least, wouldn't be running their little Honey Trap operation. Someone else was running it though Maggie knew the details. Just as soon as she and her 'boyfriend' broke up, Lt. Parker Abrams was to go in and crush the poor girl's self esteem. After that, Captain Riley Finn would swoop in to save the day like a knight in shining armor. If that didn't work they had a whole mess of soldiers and spies who would try to gain her trust. Walsh almost puked at that thought. She despised the entire operation. At least they were upfront with Maggie when they blackmailed <em>her<em> into this position. Which was a very foolish move on their part. The NID was desperate for her help and expertise, but they really didn't know who they were messing with. Already she had recalibrated the machines that dispensed anesthetic. They'd lost three of the four HSTs the teams had brought back and it wouldn't lead back to her. The anesthesiologist would be blamed. She just had to make sure that one of the other doctors took the first under-anesthetized HST exploratory surgery. It would probably mean the death of that doctor and his team, but she was perfectly okay with that.

Walsh looked back up at the monitor. The little girl was thrown into a mausoleum and Walsh's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't that the girl was seriously injured, but when she said "Ow." it just reminded her so much of her sister, Jean that she almost cried. She hadn't seen her sister in years now, though they still talked every night.

She instantly liked the fiery blonde and Maggie Walsh would be damned before she'd allow that girl to be sucked into the Initiative like she had. She'd do what she had to keep her out at all costs. If that meant killing her before the Initiative had a chance to experiment on her, well then that would be a mercy. If she were lucky, Maggie could arrange the death someplace the NID would never find her body for later dissection.

She left the AV room and started prepping for surgery. She couldn't believe what they'd ordered her to do with the first live specimen they were able to capture. They wanted her to build a real Frankenstein's Monster. She had plans to sabotage that project as well. But she had to be careful not to give herself away. One wrong move and it could be her on the slab. Until then it was business as usual. Following orders in as much as couldn't be avoided and sending soldiers to their deaths for the advancement of science. Though, the scientist in her couldn't help but be fascinated by these findings.

* * *

><p>AN: "Mo Money Mo Problems" is a single by Notorious B.I.G

Trill are part of the Star Trek universe. Do not own. Thank you to ReflectionsOfReality for the Trill suggestion and knowledge. Anything wrong is my own fault.

ASL = American Sign Language.

P7J-989 – the Game Keeper. SG-1 did the Matrix first and did it better than the 2nd and 3rd movies. That Neo still had powers outside of the matrix made it clear to me that they never really left. Kind of like how SG-1 never really left the first time either. The "real world" in The Matrix was just a second matrix. As Smith said, "...as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery." (end rant)

A/N: I don't know if any of you have read the book or seen the play "Wicked, the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West", but I have. The book was okay and the play was excellent. So, with that in mind, I'd like to take a deeper look at one of the most hated villains of BtVS. Maggie Walsh.

Maggie Walsh's actions (betraying Buffy and setting ADAM loose) directly resulted in the destruction of the Initiative. She was, to my mind, not so much a villain as perhaps an anti-hero or maybe just a traitor to the Initiative. She was certainly cold, even a bitch. Yet she joked with Buffy. There were certainly some inconsistencies in her actions. This is my attempt to explain those. Also remember that sometimes Evil shouldn't be fought by good. Sometimes Evil needs to be fought by another type of evil.

I do realize that Maggie is a very unpopular character, but try to keep an open mind until the (her) end.


	15. No One Mourns The Wicked

No One Mourns the Wicked

by Oxnate

Disclaimer. Characters and ideas come from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG-1, Glee, and Wicked: the Musical (and maybe the book) I don't own any of those.

This is part of my "Whole New World" story. It's background info on the Maggie Walsh in my story.

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><p>- -<em> Are people born Wicked or do they have Wickedness thrust upon them?<em> - - (Glinda, Wicked: the Musical)

* * *

><p>Maggie Walsh was on the forefront of cloning research. Until cloning was made illegal. Then she was <em>the<em> forefront of cloning research. She didn't particularly care for a government that would deny it's citizens the advancements that could come from such research. She never liked being told what to do and she wasn't about to give up just because someone who won a popularity contest said so. Her research was far too valuable to the human race. Making it illegal simply made it harder to operate. On the plus side, it did get rid of the competition. Where some of her colleagues had been very close to perfecting human cloning, it took Maggie another three years before she was able to perfect it.

But perfect it, she did. Only days after she did so, her lab was raided. Apparently they had gotten her assistant on a pot charge. Not even a gram and they were going to charge the stupid kid with intent to distribute. She understood why he had squealed on her. She also understood the real socio-economic reasons behind those outrageous drug laws that even the fools that passed them didn't understand. Her understanding, however, didn't keep her 24 year old assistant from suffering a heart attack the day she got out on bail.

She was prepared to play hard ball with these assholes. With her assistant dead, they had a scapegoat to cast enough reasonable doubt on her case, her lawyer told her. But that was before _he_ arrived.

Colonel Harry Maybourne didn't play hardball. The only name for the game he played was 'dangerous'. He was threatening her sister, Jean. The sole reason she went into genetic research in the first place was to find a way to cure her of Down Syndrome. And now she was being presented with evidence that she'd channeled money from her sister into her personal account. It was preposterous and completely fabricated. But it would be enough to take her sister out of her care and out of the home she was in and make her a ward of the state. Placed in whatever facility could break out a cot for her to sleep on. Maggie's lips narrowed in controlled anger.

Then Maybourne dropped the other shoe. Everything goes away. The cloning charges, the murder rap that they'd never prove, and Jean would be allowed to stay in her home. The government would even pay for it if she'd help them 'defend Earth', as they called it. There really wasn't any choice. She'd probably never see her sister again either way, but this way her sister would be safe and she'd get to call her everyday. And though she she swore to herself they'd never get her full cooperation, she'd signed on.

She'd dragged her feet ever since. Not that the idiots would ever realize it. It's not like they could recruit the best and brightest. The work here was clearly illegal. More illegal than anything she'd ever done. Well, anything she'd ever done in research anyway. And year by year she got angrier. If they had let her complete her research in peace, she might have found a cure for her sister by now. Or at the very least a vaccine to prevent anyone else from getting Down Syndrome. She swore to herself that they would rue the day they no longer had a hold on her.

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><p>AN: Okay, yes this is a very different take on Maggie Walsh. But I love looking at things from a different view. (Thank you Dead Poet's Society) Which is why I love Wicked so much. In the movie version of The Wizard of Oz, the witch is pure evil. But in the musical Wicked, she's not evil. Just a person over her head but trying to do good. I also noticed a similarity (apart from murder) between Maggie Walsh and Sue Sylvester of Glee. That's where the sister with Down's Syndrome comes from. Hopefully after you've read this story, you'll no longer look at Maggie Walsh as "The Bad Guy" but more as a flawed human being.


	16. Chapter 20

Chapter 20.

I was very surprised by the positive reaction I got to my take on Maggie. Thank you.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better.

I also really like recommendations. They give me a warm feeling inside.

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><p> Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

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><p>All through the day Xander had to hide a smile whenever he saw Willow. The poor girl was positively bouncing off the walls.<p>

"Willow, did you have caffeine today?" Xander asked as they walked the halls.

"No. I'm just so excited. I got up early and worked on some more rectifiers. It's just so exciting!" Willow exclaimed.

Xander smiled serenely. "I hear ya. I remember the night after Halloween, I didn't sleep a wink. I had so many thoughts running through my head that sleep was completely impossible. I filled half a notebook with theoretical physics that night."

"Oh my gosh, Xander. Can I see?" Willow was already giddy. The thought of looking through Dr. Samantha Carter's notes on... any topic could only make her slightly more giddy.

"Fine, but I'm taking them back tonight." Xander answered. Willow's face fell so he explained, "If I leave them with you, you're not going to sleep for the next three nights."

Willow knew he was probably right so she acquiesced with a soft, "Fi-ine."

"I'll bring the notes when I come to your house after school. I have to show Giles the car I'm trying to get him to buy to support our cause first." Xander explained.

"How does him buying a car help our cause?" Willow wondered as they entered the library.

"When it's a car that I acquired from one of our toothy friends." Xander smiled.

"Xander!" Willow was shocked. "That's... wrong. Isn't it? It's probably wrong."

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked as they got to the table.

"Xander's stealing from vampires." Willow explained.

Xander shrugged. "I don't see the harm in profiting just a little from our dearly dusted friends. And it's going to a very good cause."

"What cause?" Buffy asked.

"A healing device." Xander replied. "You get injured and you're healed before you even go home. And if you want... we could even heal Ford."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Buffy snapped the spell first. "Ford. As in, tried to kill me and a lot of other innocent people, Ford?"

"Well him, or Ford, your friend who's dying and scared out of his mind, Ford. If we find either one alive, we should be able to cure him. You can even beat the snot out of him first if you want. The machine can heal that too." Xander finished with a smile.

Giles came out of his office where he'd been listening. "What Xander's offering is quite amazing, Buffy. I understand if you feel betrayed, the truth is that we'll need a test subject once the device is done, and there could be no one better. Someone with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Not to mention the fact that his death wouldn't cause us any guilt or be able to be traced back to us in any way. And while I'm not sold on the idea of getting a new automobile, I'm beginning to like his new idea about radios and staying in communications." Any thing that kept his Slayer safe.

"I feel betrayed because he tried to betray me." Buffy sniped. "And you're getting the car. I can run faster than your- that thing you call an automobile. If we're going to do the radio thing, then you need to be able to get to me before sunrise."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Maybe," he allowed. "I'm going with Xander after school to look at it."

"Actually we should all go." Xander insisted. "You can drop Willow and me off at her house, then we need you to go around town and mark some landmarks on maps for Angel and I. If you're ever in trouble, Angel and I need to know where to go and pre-marked locations are great for that."

Giles nodded. "Xander, that's quite a good idea. What map shall we use though?"

"Wish I could take credit. That's Carter and Jolinar's idea. I just came up with putting them on a map. And I figured we'd use the one in the front of the phone book. It's pre-broken into a grid pattern for us." Xander explained.

"I think you sell yourself short, Xander." Giles smiled.

"Great. And while you guys do the map thing, Xander and I will work on the healing device." Willow agreed.

"Is there a name for the healing device?" Buffy wondered.

"There's a name, but it just translates to 'healing device'. I can't think of anything good to call it. Heal'o'matic just falls short." Xander gave an 'aw-shucks' snap of his fingers.

"Well we'll think of something. In the meantime, I'll start looking for Ford again." Buffy assured him.

"Don't forget your radio tonight and take Angel's for him too. We'll start on channel 7 and switch to 12 if anyone else is already on it." Xander ordered.

Xander was able to get lessons in a couple of the advanced moves that Giles agreed to show him before break was over. Buffy complained that Giles hadn't shown her those moves and Giles argued that Buffy had yet to master the basic techniques, so there was no point in teaching her. The look of determination on Buffy's face at that comment would have melted steel.

* * *

><p>Samantha Carter sighed in relief to finally be home for real. That virtual reality world had been a literal hell. Forcing Jack and Daniel to relive their most painful memories over and over again. It was painful for her as well. She didn't like to see her friends hurting like that. She was ashamed that she was so relieved that she hadn't had to experience the most painful memories of her own past. She wasn't sure if she could have survived that.<p>

After the briefing, Hammond had ordered them to take a couple of days off. Off as in 'off the base'. Sam was a little disappointed. There were several experiments that she wanted to run during some down time. But she supposed that working on restoring her Harley would just have to do. It was almost finished. She'd probably sell the Honda and buy a new bike to work on once the Harley was running. Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle in Colorado in November was not a smart move.

Thinking about things like that, she made her way home. There was a package on her front step, too big to fit in the mail slot. She carried it inside and was about to open it when she noticed the return address: 'Samantha Carter and Rupert Giles, Sunnydale, CA'. It was even a reasonable facsimile of her handwriting. She really wanted to believe that there was nothing dangerous in this box, but regulations prevented her from opening it here. It was from an unknown and potentially alien source and it could be dangerous. She hopped back into her car to drive back to the SGC. On the plus side, her car was already warm.

* * *

><p>"Captain Carter. I was sure I gave you a direct order to take some time off. <em>Away<em> from the base." Hammond pointed out from behind the glass of the containment room observation deck.

Samantha straightened. "Yes sir. You did, sir. But when I got home I found this package. It came from Sunnydale and that seemed suspicious, so I brought it here to be opened safely."

Hammond sighed. "Very well. Proceed." More strange stuff from Sunnydale was not something he needed.

Sam put her fingers in the gloves of the containment box and she and Dr. Fraiser carefully opened the box. X-ray's and MRIs were negative so she was fairly sure that whatever was in here wasn't harmful, but it didn't pay to take chances with unknown objects. Inside was just one object. A sealed plastic baggie containing some gray dust with the words 'Vampire Dust' scrawled across the front.

"Captain?" prompted the general.

"It say's its 'Vampire Dust' sir. With your permission, I'd like to run some tests." Carter requested.

"Dr.?" Hammond asked for his Chief Medical Officer's opinion first.

"I'm not sure I believe in vampires yet sir, but there should be no danger as long as we maintain proper containment." Dr. Fraiser assured him.

"Run your tests then." Hammond ordered before leaving. There was no further need for him to be there. They'd let him know the results soon enough.

* * *

><p>There was a dent on the hood where Buffy had slammed a vamp down on the car. But otherwise the car appeared to be well maintained. Though Giles seemed to disagree.<p>

"It's older than my current car." Giles complained.

"Yes, but your car is a '66 Citroen with a small engine putting out less than 100 horsepower." Xander admitted. "This is a 1960 Desoto Adventurer. It carries a V8 and puts out 330 horsepower. Your fuel economy will drop, but for over 3 times the power, it's a tiny drop. And it's a convertible. Which is good for diving into while being chased by things that go bump in the night.

"Giles. You have _got_ to get this car." Buffy insisted seriously.

"It is a really nice car," Willow added.

#"Did Miss Calendar not try to take you to a car race of some type? I believe that would indicate her enjoyment of cars. A car like this would certainly impress her more than your current automobile."# Jolinar added.

Giles sighed. Even the alien was against him. "Very well. How much do you want for it?"

"It's worth $40,000, but I'll give it to you for $30,000." Xander answered.

Giles sputtered. He had been expecting 5, maybe $10,000. He offed Xander $15,000.

"Giles. I can get $35,000 from a dealership, even with the dent." Xander shot a glare at Buffy.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know?" Buffy countered his glare.

Xander supposed she had a point and shrugged to show that he admitted that point before going back to Giles with a counter offer. "$32,000."

"Xander, you're negotiating the wrong way." Giles informed him. "How about $20,000?"

"You know, Miss Calendar really likes cars and knows what they're worth. Plus she knows about us and is probably a better driver than you. She might be willing to pay me $35,000 for it." Xander wondered as he countered.

"You're a very poor negotiator, you know that? Fine. $30,000." Giles met Xander's original price. "I trust you'll allow me to make payments?" Giles said a little tersely.

"Yeah, I trust you." Xander agreed. "Let go to Angel's place. I left the paperwork there for safe keeping."

At Angel's, they walked in and shut the door to the sunlight behind them. They gave the signed title to Giles for him to register as his. After they were finished, Xander explained the radios and asked if Angel wanted to train now while Buffy and Giles took his new car around to mark landmarks. Angel agreed, but then Buffy didn't want to leave. She wanted to watch the boys spar. Giles and Willow decided to stay as well.

After warming up, Xander and Angel had a quick bout. Both were trying to impress the others watching and went harder than they normally did. Xander gave a good showing, but realized just how much Angel had been holding back. And with a "Stop!" he was forced to give up.

Buffy was certainly impressed by Angel's prowess and went to tell him so while Giles and Willow thought that Xander had fought well.

"That was really good Xander." Willow assured him.

"Yes, that was surprisingly good. Most human's don't stand a chance against supernatural foes especially one of Angel's caliber and you gave him quite a challenge." Giles agreed.

"I'm not quite up to Captain Carter's ability yet. A couple more months and I'll be there. But I can see that it won't be enough against master vampires. They're just too strong and fast to take on without a stake. But Jolinar wants a shot now." Xander told them.

#"What say you, Angel? Care to spar with me now?"# Jolinar challenged.

Angel agreed and the non-combatants cleared the floor again. Xander watched from within his own head. The extra strength and speed the symbiote provided, along with the training they'd done certainly made the difference. At a guess Jolinar was now as fast and as strong as when they had merged before. Xander wondered just how strong they might be if they merged again. The fight was over much quicker than the first and stopped when Angel was forced to cry 'uncle'.

% You know, I never had the urge to beat another man senseless before I met you. % Jolinar observed.

/ You're welcome. / Xander replied as they were congratulated. Then added. / You were almost as strong as we were when we merged. /

% I know. I was still weak then. You're going to want to merge again? % Jolinar guessed.

/ We have to know. / Xander reasoned.

% Only after the healing device is complete or we run out of funds to work on it. I don't want that interrupted by us running around the city like a hyena. % Jolinar cautioned.

* * *

><p>They left Angel his radio and drove both cars back to Giles' apartment. Giles drove his old car and Xander drove the Desoto with a promise not to scratch it. Xander stopped by his parents' house to pick up that notebook for Willow and was able to make it back to Giles' apartment in one piece. Buffy insisted that they take the new car that day as the convertible would make it much easier to spot landmarks. Xander had the feeling that Buffy would have found any number of excuses to take the Desoto over the other car. He and Willow were then dropped at her house and Giles and Buffy left to scout the town.<p>

They worked until sundown when Xander turned on his radio. "Check, check. Everyone got their radios on?"

"Yeah, Giles' and I are finishing up with the map." Buffy answered.

"I'm here." Angel answered next.

"Okay, it's your first time out with radios. I would suggest everyone on patrol check in with their position every 15 minutes. What do you think, Giles?"

There was silence for a moment before Giles came on. "Yes that sounds like a good plan. If anyone fails to check in, the other two will converge on their last known position." Giles agreed.

* * *

><p>Sam was a bit concerned. It certainly looked like cremated human remains under the microscope. She had sent several samples off for DNA testing. They should have the results back in a week or so. Until then, SG-1 would be shipping out for P3R-636 tomorrow.<p>

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><p>The next week passed quickly for the Scoobie gang. They fell into a rhythm. School, Willow went home to work on the healing device, Xander and Angel would train, then at sundown, Xander went to help Willow while Angel left to patrol with Buffy. As far as they could tell the soldiers were no longer tracking Buffy. Xander even came out and took a look around with his night-vision for them. After the first night, they decided that half-hour checks would be fine. Also anytime anyone human spotted a vampire or Buffy spotted three or more.<p>

Giles was able to sell his car for a decent price and made his first payment on the Desoto. Which allowed Xander and Willow to keep working and also afford a third set of radios. One for Willow and one for Jenny. Though Jenny didn't use hers much as she liked to go out with Rupert. Jolinar had been right about Jenny liking nicer cars. Both times Xander went to go check Buffy's six, he had also checked on Giles and found him and Jenny in each other's arms. Only the fact that they were still dressed had allowed him to keep his lunch down. Instead he had called over the radio in his bad British accent, "Oi, stop snogging you two."

Buffy came on the radio first. "Xander! Were you spying on us?"

Giles fumbled for his radio and came on a second later. "Xander. This is a private matter." Then realized that Xander might have been talking to Buffy, "Buffy, were you kissing Angel?"

"Were you kissing Miss Calendar?" an amazed Buffy shot back.

This was incredibly funny, but Xander had to step in before feelings go hurt. "Okay. Everyone stop. This is what we're going to do. All four of you are going to go home right now. I don't want to know what you do once you get there. Jo and I are going to finish the patrol tonight. We will call you if we need backup. And from now on, everyone keeps their head in the game while patrolling." Xander ordered. "I'm finally understanding the army's 'no fraternization' policy."

"You tell 'em Xander." Willow piped up over the radio. She liked to be included like that.

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><p>The next week passed slowly for SG-1. They fell into a rhythm. Wake up, work, eat, work, beatings, work, eat, work, work, pass out. Calling it sleep would be too generous. Passing out due to exhaustion was more accurate. Day followed day in a daily grind. The only thing to break the monotony was occasional extra beatings whenever Teal'c broke one of their shoddy tools.<p>

When Daniel came in wearing royal robes and talking about a feast, Sam was sure that Jack was going to beat him to death in front of the guards.

When Daniel finally did get them out of there, she had never slept so good on an infirmary bed. Then there was all the fun and excitement of Daniel's withdrawal from the effects of the sarcophagus.

By the time the weekend rolled around she had entirely forgotten about the DNA samples she had sent out for testing until the results arrived on her desk.

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><p>AN: Giles' car was listed in the Internet Movie Cars Database. Thank you for your help. The stats were looked up on Wikipedia and Google. The car that the vamps drove wasn't listed, but the headlights and grill seem to match the 1960 Desoto Adventurer. So that's what I went with. Spike also drives a black Desoto.

P3R-636 – Need. Gave a quick summary for those who don't remember.


	17. Chapter 21

Chapter 21.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better. Both are needed if you wish this fic to continue.

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><p>Xander's thoughts/

%Jolinar's thoughts%

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

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><p>"These results are impossible." Dr. Janet Fraiser complained to the team and general seated around the conference table. "There's traces of at least five different humans in that sample. Along with pig, cow and feline DNA. However, these are all only found in trace amounts. In fact the two labs we sent the samples to have both requested larger sample sizes to get a more complete picture of what's there. But the real kicker is the primary DNA of the sample. It's not human. Not even terrestrial as far as the labs can tell."<p>

"So we're dealing with something alien?" Hammond asked.

Janet shrugged. Things weren't always so cut and dry in this field as people supposed. There was a lot of guesswork involved. "The sample shares fewer genes with humans than Teal'c." she danced around the issue. Teal'c's ancestors were once human and he shared a vast majority of genes with humans, but this thing could have been human once too. There was no way to be sure.

"Dr. Giles did say something about a 'hellmouth'." A newly recovered Daniel put in. "It's supposedly a gateway to a 'hell dimension' and it attracts the kinds of things that go bump in the night. That's what he was sure of. Since Halloween they came up with some new theories." He looked at Sam. "That the Goa'uld drove the demons that were controlling Earth out when they took over and that this 'hellmouth' was a just another portal, whether it really went to another dimension or another planet in this or another galaxy." he explained.

"Do those theories sound plausible Captain?" George asked.

"They sound like I could have thought of them sir," Carter confirmed. "Different types of portals besides the Stargate are possible. Hyperdrive engines are really creating a type of portal in space. The one thing that all portals require is energy and the coast of California is very geologically active. It is possible that some type of portal could take advantage of geological energy instead of electrical." she theorized.

"Are you telling me we have an ongoing foothold situation in California?" Hammond queried.

"Inconclusive, sir." Sam answered.

"We... never actually saw the portal." Jack continued. "We also didn't take that sample of remains or dust or whatever it is."

"We did however, see a creature turn to dust, such as that. It cannot be ruled out." Teal'c intoned.

"So what we have is completely circumstantial evidence?" Hammond summarized. Before anyone could answer, there was a knock on the door. "Enter." _It had better be important,_ the general thought.

"Sirs, madams. There's a phone call for Captain Carter." an airman said.

"Well take a message." Hammond ordered. "She's in a meeting."

"I told them that sir, he said that SG-1 would be interested as well. He claims to be..." the airman steeled himself, "well, he claims to be 'her brother by another mother'."

Jack found himself smiling at that. He tried to do Teal'c eyebrow thing, but couldn't quite pull it off. Only long experience kept him from laughing at the joke.

"Run a trace and patch it through the speakerphone." the general ordered. "Once the phone beeped to tell them it was on, he spoke, "This is Major General George Hammond of the US Air Force. To whom am I speaking?"

"General Hammond, it's nice to talk with you again." a familiar voice said. "I understand you got your teams back more or less intact?"

"Yes. Though I'm not sure yet whether it was thanks to or in spite of your help." Hammond replied.

"Well while you decide, could you tell me if SG-1 is there too? I was kinda hoping to talk to them this time. Not that you're not a pleasant conversationalist, but there are some things I want to bounce off Sam." the voice inquired.

"We're here." Sam confirmed. "What did you want, Xander?"

"Is anyone else there?" the voice asked, unfazed by the use of his name.

"This is Dr. Fraiser" the CMO answered.

"Janet. Nice to hear your voice. And I trust you. As long as you don't have any needles pointed my way." Xander joked. "Anyway, you found some names," Xander said without confirming that he was this Xander they referred to. "May I ask how?"

"School records." Daniel jumped in before anyone could stop him. "Your name and two others kept popping up with Dr. Giles." Daniel surreptitiously let him know that they knew Buffy's name even if they kept her out of the reports.

"I'm going to guess that was your idea Daniel." Xander stated.

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Because it never occurred to me." Xander laughed. "Anyway, the reason I was calling was to see if Samantha got my package. It's been a week so you should have the test results back."

"That's classified, son." Hammond answered.

"Aliens are classified. So far as I know vampires aren't." Xander countered.

Hammond considered that for a moment. "Would you care to explain the results?" Hammond asked.

"Sure, but you're going to have to tell me what they were. We don't exactly have the resources to do DNA testing ourselves."

Janet rattled off the results again.

"Pig and Cow doesn't surprise me. We have a friendly vampire who feeds on that stuff. But cats! What the heck?" Xander wondered.

"What about the primary DNA?" Carter asked.

"The story goes that as the demons were being driven from Earth a demon mixed his blood with a human and created the first vampire. The way vampires are created is that a vamp feeds on a human, then the human feeds on the vamp before he dies. He rises as one of the undead soon after that. If the DNA of the... host for lack of a better word is no longer human, that could mean that demon DNA is replacing the human DNA. Sort of like a slow acting retro-virus." Xander explained, sounding more and more like Carter. "Most vamps can look human if they choose, but we had one really old vamp in town last year who was so old, his face had permanently shifted. It was pretty nasty. Also, while most vamps dust clean, he actually left a skeleton behind."

"Could we get a sample of that skeleton?" Sam asked.

"Sorry, some other vamps tried to resurrect him with his bones. Had to smash them to smithereens." Xander replied.

Sam frowned. One avenue was down. "We were also discussing this 'hellmouth'. Could you tell us more about it?"

"Mostly, just that it's nothing like the Stargate. It's powered by mystical energy, not electricity. And there was no device creating the portal that I saw." Xander stated.

"That's not possible." Sam argued.

"Yeah, I knew you were going to say that," Xander joked. "I can assure you that magic is real. I don't have the equipment to study it so I can't tell you how it works other than it is definitely some form of energy and/or energy manipulation. I'm not the magic expert and I haven't been back down to the hellmouth since Halloween so we're relying on some fuzzy memories here. But I've seen magic. Believe you when I tell you it's very real."

"You know, we're taking a lot on faith here." Jack interjected.

"Good to hear your voice Colonel." Xander replied. "And so am I. Like whether or not you talked to the Tok'ra for me."

"That's classified." Hammond answered.

"Are you Jolinar? Did he somehow get transferred to you?" Carter asked expectantly.

"That's classified." Xander parroted.

"What if we could arrange a little quid pro quo. You tell us what we want to know, in exchange for what we want to know?" Hammond wondered.

Xander considered for a moment. "Fine. But you go first. Did you contact the Tok'ra and were you able to gain an alliance?"

Hammond nodded for Dr. Jackson to explain. "Well, we contacted them. We were able to find the traitor and that made them fairly friendly towards us, but it seems that any hope for an alliance with them rests on us finding a host for one of them. And we're having trouble finding willing hosts among people cleared for knowledge of the Stargate. We've been fighting the Goa'uld for so long now that the idea of blending with one is abhorrent." Daniel said.

"Fair enough. I doubt I would take anyone up on becoming a vamp even if they said we'd share my body." Xander said. "Your question?"

Carter raised her hand and the general nodded. "Are you Jolinar of Malksur?"

"Half of me is." Xander admitted. "Half me, half you, half Jolinar, and half hyena."

"Half hyena?" Jack inquired.

"It's a long story. Save it for your next question, sir. I mean, Colonel. Jack. Whatever. Now I forgot what I was going to ask next." Xander complained. After a moment of silence he continued, "Oh yeah. What the hell is the NID doing in my town?"

Hammond answered, "I'm going to need more proof than just your word that you are really Jolinar before we can answer that."

#"Is this enough or do you require more?"# Jolinar answered in character.

"That will be enough for now." Hammond assured him. "As far as the NID goes, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe better. We do know that the base was only recently completed. If you can find construction permits and the like that might help you find them."

"Concrete. Look for someone who just bought a lot of concrete." Jack advised. "Why are you still here?" Jack took the next question.

"Where else would I go? I've lived on the hellmouth for 17 years. I've been fighting demons and vampires longer than you've been fighting the Goa'uld. We don't have a ship and Jolinar is rightfully nervous about putting himself in your hands again to get to the Stargate. For now, free and under the NID's nose is safer than in your custody."

"We thought you were a Gould." O'Neill explained.

#"None the less, last time we were in your custody, we died. You can understand that we are nervous about trusting you again."# Jolinar countered.

"We understand that a grave mistake was made with regards to your treatment here last time. Is there something we can do to earn back your trust?" Hammond asked diplomatically.

"For now. Just stay away. Though, if you could get the NID to leave, that would go a long way to restoring our faith in the US government." Xander answered.

"I wish I could pull them out. But it's out of my hands." Hammond explained.

"I know. But I have your number. If you need to get a hold of me, call Giles." Xander sighed and hung up.

"Hyena?" Jack wondered aloud.

* * *

><p>It turned out that threatening to pop Willie's head like a zit was actually a good interrogation tool. Buffy decided that she'd have to give Xander props for that idea. Even if it was disgusting. She was amazed that Ford was still in town and alive. Now she just had to do the hard part. Meeting Ford again and not killing him outright. She was standing in front of his door at the seedier motel in town. She'd been standing there for almost two minutes now. Finally her arm shot forward and she softly knocked. Almost quiet enough that she couldn't hear it. But she heard movement inside. Footsteps came to the door and she knew Ford was looking through the peephole. "Let me in Ford. If I wanted to kill you, I'd have broken down the door already."<p>

The door opened and Ford stood in the doorway, back-lit by the TV on the dresser. "Summers. Wasn't expecting to see you again." he stepped back to let her in.

She entered at the unspoken invitation. There were several empty bottles of vodka around the room and one empty and one full bottle of aspirin. Ford himself looked gaunt. An unhealthy leanness, but enough color to tell her that he was still alive. Probably. "Give me your wrist." she commanded.

"Why?" Ford questioned, but held his wrist out anyway.

Buffy took the wrist and felt around a bit before letting it drop. "You don't look so good. I was checking for a pulse." she explained. Then stayed silent.

"Listen, I owe you an apology for the way I treated you. I figure I was at the 'bargaining' stage of grief. I was willing to bargain with your life and that was wrong. And worse, I betrayed your trust. I felt really bad about it when it was done and I went right into the 'depression' stage." He waved at the vodka bottles. "I figure I'm at acceptance now."

"Why didn't you go home?" Buffy asked, sitting in a chair.

"If I go home, their just going to pump me full of poison to give me another month worth of torture. There's just no point. I already said good bye to everyone who mattered. Except one." Ford answered.

Damn it was a lot easier to hate him when he was trying to kill her than when he was trying to apologize. "Ford, you know there's a lot of weird things in this town besides me, right?"

Ford nodded. "I've seen some pretty freaky stuff walk by late at night."

"Well, one of those freaky things is that since you disappeared, we acquired a device that might be able to heal you." Buffy blurted.

Ford took a moment to process that info. "Why would you be willing to help me? I tried to betray you and kill two dozen other people. With hindsight it's clear that I was completely crazy. You really shouldn't trust me."

The door opened. "We're _not_ trusting you." Xander stepped into the room and put his lock-picks away. "We just need a guinea pig. If you live, we hope we'll never see you again. If you die... well, how do you feel about cremation?"

"Sounds like a plan." Ford slapped his knees and stood up. "Where we going?"

"You're ok with this?" Buffy stood up too.

"A chance at a cure or a quick death? That's better than my current options. Let's go already." Ford started walking out the door.

"Blue car." Xander instructed from behind him.

* * *

><p>Giles was driving, Buffy sat next to him and Xander sat next to Ford. Xander handed Ford a blindfold and a black bag. "Like I said, we aren't trusting you."<p>

They arrived at Willow's house and piled out of the car. Buffy helped Ford out. Giles entered first and led the way to the basement. They stopped at the top of the stairs to take off the bag and blindfold. Ford followed Giles downstairs with Xander and Buffy bringing up the rear. Down in the basement was a chair that looked suspiciously like an old dentist's chair. And over it looked a bit like one of those dentist's lights. With two large, jointed arms covered in wires and the 'light' on a ball joint so it could turn every which way.

"Are you going to fill my cavities while your at it?" Ford commented on the setup.

"No, but I could seal your cavities permanently if you like." Xander replied darkly. "Let your bladder and bowels rupture. It should be a fun way to die."

"Xander." Giles reprimanded. Then he motioned to the chair. "Have a seat, Ford."

After he sat down, Willow and Giles strapped in his arms and legs. Then Giles started strapping down his head. "Are you really going to help me or is this just a creative way to kill me?" he asked calmly.

Giles smiled weakly. "It really is an attempt to heal you. However, we'll be working in your head. If you so much as twitch, it could liquify your brain. And Xander tells me that it may also be painful. The straps are to keep you from killing yourself during the procedure."

Ford swallowed but didn't say anything. Xander took up position by Ford's side while the other three watched. He maneuvered the device's head over Ford's head. Then placing his hand on the back of the device, he gave Jolinar control. Xander watched very carefully to exactly what Jolinar was doing as well as what Jolinar was thinking while he healed Ford. Jolinar wasn't quite so mean as they had promised and had already tested the device by cutting their left arm and then healing it with the other arm. Jolinar did it once to test that it was working. Xander had also given it a shot. He failed the first couple tries, but did eventually succeed in healing a small cut. But a beginner's skill would be no match for a 'nest of tumors' as Ford had described them.

After only a few minutes, Jolinar stopped and gave control back to Xander. They weren't going to trust him with the fact that aliens existed. "You're healed."

"That's it?" Ford wondered. He hadn't felt a thing. "Can you unstrap me then?"

"Not yet. I believe we mentioned pain" Xander replied as Giles stepped closer.

"Buffy, would you mind taking Willow upstairs for a snack?" Giles didn't take his eyes off Ford.

"But I'm not... oh." Willow allowed herself to be led upstairs.

"So this is the pain part, huh?" Ford asked cheerfully.

"Maybe," Xander replied. He also took the opportunity to reposition the device so it now rested over Ford's crotch.

"Who did you make your deal with and what did the vampire steal from us?" Ripper asked darkly.

"I made it with the vampire Spike." Ford answered immediately. "And it was a book. I don't know the title, but it was by a guy named... Dru lock?" Ford mangled the name a bit.

"Du Loc?" Giles asked and Ford nodded. "Oh dear, that is bad." Giles sat down.

"Are we done with this guy or did you want to question him more?" Xander asked. His voice suddenly switching from dark to kind of whiny.

"You don't have to tie me up for me to answer. I understand why you did, but my headache is gone. It hasn't left for the past 2 months. So I believe you when you say I'm healed. I'm willing to tell you anything you want. I'm willing to do anything you want too." Ford assured them.

Xander looked at Giles who nodded before he released Ford.

* * *

><p><em>So this is Earth? <em> Martouf thought as he finally arrived at his destination. _It was nice. Very... blue._ He started his scan for naquadah. That should show him any Goa'uld or Tok'ra life signs. It shouldn't take too long for him to confirm or deny.

In a cloaked ship, high above the Earth's upper atmosphere, it was a simple matter to scan the Earth for naquadah, which would reveal the presence of any Goa'uld or Tok'ra. While he was doing that, he also scanned the communications of Earth to learn more about them as a people. Watching their news programs taught him that they were certainly capable of great violence, even with limited means. But it was also clear that they focused on their own negative aspects too much. If such violence were truly as widespread as the reports suggested, the Earthlings would have died out long ago. Instead, it appeared that competition for limited resources was a major contributor to fueling the violence. The planet was overpopulated for their current farming technology.

An alert from his computer alerted him that the results of the scan were done. The Stargate and a cache of weapons grade naquadah that were probably staff weapons showed in a place called Colorado. There was also the signature trace of naquadah of a Goa'uld. This one was already identified as Captain Samantha Carter. Her signature having been marked while she was in the Tok'ra base.

There was a second Stargate and another cache of weapons in a place called Nevada. What was surprising was five other caches of weapons grade naquadah and accompanying signatures of Goa'uld nearby, scattered around Earth. Unlike Captain Carter's signature none of them had moved in the last 24 hours, which meant nothing from this altitude. Especially with all the satellites in the way of the scan it was like trying to follow a sound through the forest. Martouf was lucky to have a general location on each signature. He was only certain that none of them had moved more than 2.1 miles since the initial scans. That was the margin of error.

If this really was the human home world, from which the Goa'uld had been exiled from so long ago, the most likely explanation for the goa'uld presence was that these Goa'uld were likely in stasis jars. He set the computer to continue monitoring those and alert him if there was any movement. One of them could still be Jolinar.

Then he sat back to watch what he had determined was the most popular show on Earth. Perhaps Earth's entertainment would give him more insight into its people. So he sat back and turned on 'Seinfeld'.

He was rousted from the second episode by an alert from his computer. Someone had used a healing device on the west coast of the United States of America. The problem was, there wasn't a Goa'uld or Tok'ra signature in the area. This was not good. A Goa'uld that could cloak themselves from their sensors was dangerous indeed. He sent a message back to the Tok'ra base describing all that he had found and that he was landing to investigate this cloaked Goa'uld.

A/N: Don't own Seinfeld.


	18. Chapter 22

Chapter 22.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better. Both are needed if you wish this fic to continue.

* * *

><p>Xander's thoughts/

%Jolinar's thoughts%

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p><em>Was this guy trying to get himself killed?<em> Buffy wondered to herself. _ And what's with the weird clothes?_ She reported in to Xander that there was something odd and her position before investigating. She had learned the usefulness of having back up available when she had run into a group of five vamps the other night. She had ran until Angel joined her, then they held them off until Giles and Miss Calendar had shown up with crossbows and taken two of them out. Then the tides changed 'cause, three vamps were no match for her and Angel together. Lesson learned. Backup good. Communication needed to get backup.

She called out to him but kept her distance, wary that he might be a vamp. "Out for a midnight stroll?"

He smiled at her, "Sort of, I'm looking for someone." he approached her.

"Anyone in particular?" Buffy asked. There was something oogy about this guy.

"Yes, though I'm not sure what he or she might look like." he replied.

Then it hit her. "You're a Gould!" She accused before she attacked.

In all his years, Lantash had only been physically attacked a few times. Tok'ra were infiltrators, not warriors. However, he did know a few moves. Against a charging opponent like this it was best to flow through the attack and use the attacker's own momentum against her. He fell to his back and rolled through the fall, kicking her off him as he went. She flew through the air and rolled her own landing to come back up on her feet ready to attack again. Lantash took advantage of the short respite to explain. #"I'm not Goa'uld. I'm Tok'ra."#

Buffy stopped attacking at that. "Tok'ra?" Buffy wasn't sure if a Goa'uld would claim to be a Tok'ra, but she did have her resident expert available by radio. "Don't move. And keep your hands where I can see them." she ordered the Tok'ra. Then into her radio, "Xander, come in."

Xander answered his radio a second later. "What's up, Buff?"

"That odd thing I told you about. He claims to be a Tok'ra." Buffy continued.

Xander groaned he was pretty sure the NID were listening by now. "_Not_ over the radio, Buff. I'll be there in a second." When he got there, he immediately recognized Martouf. "Martouf! It's good to see you again." he cried. He was going to go over and hug the guy when Jolinar's feeling for the man interrupted. Love was the only word for it. Very romantic love. Feelings and memories that Jolinar had experienced; including sex. As a woman. With Martouf. That was more than a little disconcerting.

/That is SO not going to happen./ Xander told his partner.

%I understand.% Jolinar assured him. %But I can not help my feelings for or my memories of him. We were together for a hundred years.%

/So I see./ Xander replied before going back to the conversation. "Ok, that was weird." Xander admitted.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"Jolinar and him were lovers." Xander explained.

"You mean you and him...?" Buffy tried to hide her laughter.

"Jolinar was female at the time." Xander explained. Then he turned to a confused Martouf. "And that is definitely NOT happening. Ok, buddy?"

"Jolinar?" Martouf wondered.

#"In the flesh"# Jolinar answered.

"That's impossible. I can't sense you at all. I scanned this area in detail and found nothing either." Martouf countered.

"That's the hellmouth for you." Buffy quipped.

"I was... cloned into this body. For lack of a better word. There was no naquadah present. It's why you and your sensors couldn't pick me up. Speaking of which, how did you find us? Earth's a big place." Xander asked.

"My ship detected the energy signature of a healing device being used and I came down to investigate." Martouf explained.

"Interesting, I didn't think that it would be detectable without the naquadah." Jolinar noted.

"It has a unique energy pattern when it is being used. Even without naquadah. But how did you get it to work without it?" Martouf asked.

"I'll explain everything once we get back to base." Xander promised as Giles and Jenny pulled up. "Hop in the car." He put Buffy between the two of them so they wouldn't have to touch.

* * *

><p>Back at Willow's, Jolinar explained everything to Martouf. Including magic, the hellmouth, SG-1, the NID, demons and their theories on them, and that Jolinar was staying. #"I'm needed here. I'm no good to the Tok'ra any more if I can't pass for a Goa'uld. Though, if you leave me a ship and a communication device, my knowledge and services can still be available if you ever need them."#<p>

Martouf had started crying on the trip back to Willow's. He'd stopped by then, but his eyes were still red and puffy. "Just knowing you are alive... is a comfort for me. We had feared you dead."

Then he nodded and Lantash came forward, #"We are also greatly gladdened. All Tok'ra will be pleased that you are still alive."#

"Why do you do that?" Willow wondered.

#"This voice?"# Lantash clarified.

"No. The nodding thing before one of you speaks. Xander and Jolinar don't do that." Willow wondered.

#"Perhaps I can answer that."# Jolinar offered. #"Most Tok'ra have a very formalized relationship with their host. The symbiote can take control of the host but not the other way around."#

"Says you." Xander interrupted.

Willow giggled.

Jolinar rolled his eyes and went on. #"The nodding you observe is a polite way of one consciousness ceding control of the body to another. Xander and I have a different sort of relationship. Xander is rather keen on _not_ observing the rituals and I am not overly fond of them for their own sake. So there's quite a bit more jostling for control in our own mind. It's rather fun actually. And Xander grows stronger by it as well. You saw how he took control there. With more practice, he might be able to suppress me if he desired."#

#"That's impossible." Lantash denied.

"It's just a skill. You get better with practice." Xander stated. "Like this one:" ##"Behold, I am the great and powerful Oz!"## Xander didn't quite get the voice right. But it certainly didn't sound quite human either. "Uhh. I had it once the other day." he complained in his normal voice.

"The Wizard of Oz." Willow piped in. Xander nodded to her.

#"That's impossible." Lantash denied again.

Xander switched to a Spanish accent. "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

"Princess Bride." Willow named the movie again.

#"I assure you Lantash, it is Xander doing it. He's also practicing the eye glow. So far, no luck with that however."# Jolinar assured the other symbiote.

Martouf laughed however, and insisted on trying the deep voice. Xander coached him as much as was possible. Though they didn't get anywhere with it yet. Xander told him not to give up. With Ford already asleep in the guest bedroom they had to put Martouf in the master bedroom. Xander warned Lantash about Ford first though. "We have a guest who knows about magic and vampires, but doesn't know about aliens, Jolinar, Lantash or the SGC and we want to keep it that way until we're sure we can trust him. So for now, you'll both have to use your human voice. Figure out another way to show that Lantash is speaking." Xander made an 'L' with his right hand and placed it against his forehead in the slang sign for 'Loser', hoping they would use it the next day. It would be hilarious.

* * *

><p>That night, Xander slept on Willow's couch. Or rather he laid there and tried to sleep.<p>

The next morning, Jolinar took control and walked to the kitchen where Willow was starting coffee. "Good morning, Willow." He said softly.

"Morning guys." Willow answered equally softly.

"Just Jolinar right now," Jolinar answered. "Xander didn't sleep well last night. Doesn't trust Ford yet and kept thinking he heard him moving. So I'm letting him sleep for now."

"So Xander can't hear us right now?" Willow leaned forward.

"No. He can't." Jolinar assured her.

"Will he know what we talked about?" Willow asked.

"If he looks, I can't stop him." Jolinar explained. "Was there something you wanted to know?"

Willow swallowed before making her decision and blurting softly, "How can I make Xander love me?"

Jolinar smiled. "I can tell you for certain, he already loves you. I think what you mean is, 'how can I make him notice I'm a girl?'." Willow nodded eagerly and Jolinar continued, "Boobs."

"What?" cried Willow.

"Boobs, breasts, tatas, melons, goombas, jugs-" Jolinar started listing just a few of the names Xander had for the female anatomy. He had to admit that it was impressive. Considering the limited vocabulary he claimed to have.

"Ok, I get it." Willow interrupted as she crossed her arms over her chest shyly. "But I've got boobs." she assured the alien.

"I know. But you have to get Xander to realize it too." Jolinar looked down at his own flat chest. "I miss mine sometimes. They came in handy more than once. But I like this body too." Jolinar grabbed an orange from the middle of the table. "Here, let me show you what I'm talking about." Jolinar stood them up and placed the orange on his chest. Then he 'accidentally' rubbed his orange on Willow's arm. "Like that. That's like an electric shock to guys. But guys are like puppies, you have to shock them a couple times before they get the message. She showed her a couple other moves and they were soon giggling and laughing about the things that Willow could try on Xander. But they had to sit down quickly and Jolinar started peeling his orange when Xander started waking up.

"Morning Will. Morning Jo." Xander yawned.

"Morning Xander," they replied together.

"Cool. I didn't even have to walk here. It's almost like breakfast in bed." Xander remarked.

Willow breathed a sigh of relief that Xander hadn't mentioned anything. "Do you want toast or cereal?"

"Cereal." Xander answered.

Soon enough, the smell of coffee woke the other guests of the house.

"Ford, this is Marty. Marty, this is Ford." Xander introduced them when Martouf had joined them.

* * *

><p>The surprise trip to Cimmeria had gone well thanks to a timely display of Asgard Ex Machina. For which Carter was very thankful. The only problem was that it got their presentation trip to Washington DC pushed back yet again. She and Col O'Neill were supposed to receive the Air Medal for saving the planet months ago, but emergencies kept popping up.<p>

As she and Col O'Neill walked to General Hammond's office, she wondered if the President had finally given up and ordered General Hammond to present the medals. That would mean as much if not more to her anyway.

"Come." Hammond ordered when Jack knocked. He handed each of them a folder in turn. "I was hoping you would get back in time. I managed to convince the President not to delay the presentation. The plane leaves at 0800 tomorrow. And nothing short of the end of the world is going to stop us from getting to this presentation." Hammond assured them.

* * *

><p>Being a radio operator in the NID's Sunnydale base was pretty easy. Except for the odd hours. The great thing was when one of the targets started using radios to report her position to her handlers. After a few days, they were able to find most of her landmarks and could just listen in to her transmissions to have a good idea where she was at any given time. And listening was easy. Even though they occasionally changed channels, it wasn't to the point where they thought anyone was actually listening. And the so called 'privacy codes' that some of the nicer civilian radios had were no match for government snoops.<p>

They listened in real time. They then passed the location information on to the teams in the field, who found it much easier to avoid this target for now. And in the future, it would make it much easier to find her. They also passed on any pertinent information. Either to the field teams if it was time sensitive or to their superiors if it wasn't. Tonight they had only the name of a new HST. Something called a Toke-Rah.

* * *

><p>Colonel Maybourne nearly spit out his coffee when he read that morning's briefing report. The tech had spelled the name 'Toke-Rah' but it quite clearly meant that there was a Tok'ra (or a Goa'uld pretending to be a Tok'ra) somewhere in Sunnydale, CA. The radio communication between the Slayer and her team went dead after that. They wouldn't know for sure if she survived for a few nights. She didn't patrol every night.<p>

He _had _to be there. It would mean missing Jack's award presentation. Something that Harry was more than willing to admit that Jack deserved. After all, the NID's mission was the protection of Earth and Jack had done just that. But he had been hoping to offer him his sincere congratulations and then hold the falsified mission briefings over his sarcastic ass. Now, he would just have to send a cake.

He double checked through the SGC logs to make sure that no Tok'ra operative had come through the gate. Then called his secretary to have her make the plans for his trip to Sunnydale.

* * *

><p>The party was fairly noisy. That many people in a room and the ambient noise got pretty loud. There was the uncomfortableness when Colonel O'Neill met her father, General Jacob Carter. O'Neill and Hammond split off to give them a chance to talk and then everything went silent. She was fairly certain that people were still talking. Their lips were moving, but no sound was coming out. Her entire world started collapsing into a black hole. Her father was dying. And he wanted his last act on Earth to be to get his daughter into the space program. She felt her eyes grow moist and she struggled to blink back the tears. If only she could tell him. Tell him why she was getting the Air Medal. That she traveled further across the galaxy than any astronaut could dream. She was pulled from her thoughts when Colonel O'Neill returned from wherever he had gone and pulled her and General Hammond away.<p>

"We've got a problem, Sir. We've sprung a leak. Apparently, someone with knowledge of the program talked to a reporter." Jack said softly.

"This reporter approached you?" Hammond asked.

"Yes, sir." Jack replied.

"And you said?" Hammond encouraged.

"Secondary cover story. Mentioned that it sounded like a bad TV show. Don't think he bought it." Jack shook his head.

"Well, how much does he know?" Sam asked.

"Knew me. Mentioned the Stargate. But that's more than he should know." O'Neill answered.

"Then you're right. We've got a problem." Hammond agreed. "I'll brief the president _after_ the medal ceremony. It's bad but it isn't the end of the world, and I promised you, nothing short of that will stop this ceremony."

* * *

><p>"Presenting Colonel O'Neill and Captain Samantha Carter." General Hammond saluted the President.<p>

The President returned the salute. "I believe you're mistaken, General." He turned to an assistant and pulled two oak leaf medals. "She should be properly introduced as _Major_ Samantha Carter." He stepped in front of her and pinned the medals to her epaulettes.

"Thank you, sir." Carter fired off a salute.

The President returned it then walked to the podium. "Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, your work in Deep Space Radar Telemetry has resulted in advancements which have already saved many, many lives. And there aren't enough medals in the world to properly show our gratitude. Your exemplary courage and heroism reflect great credit upon yourself and the United States Air Force. Thank you."

After finishing his speech, he turned first to the Colonel and gave him his medal, and then to the new Major. Both of them snapped off perfect salutes to their commander-in-chief. After a round of applause from the small group in the room, the President left and General Hammond followed. Jack and Sam were left to fend for themselves.

General Carter stepped up first. "Samantha." he said as he gave her a big hug. "I wanted to let you know. When the President recognizes you for 'courage and heroism' in whatever it is that you do... well it must be pretty important. And I didn't mean to push for you to go into the space program."

"Thank you, Dad." Sam cut him off.

"Space program, Ca- Major?" Jack quirked his head at his 2IC.

"_NASA's_ space program, sir." Sam answered, emphasis on the NASA.

"Ahh. Yes, sir. That would be very exiting, sir." Jack gave Jacob a wry smile.

An attendant interrupted whatever Jacob was going to reply. "Sorry sirs, ma'am. The President has asked for the Colonel and Major to join him."

Jacob gave his daughter a quick hug. "You go do whatever it is that you do."

* * *

><p>Jack and Sam entered the room and snapped to attention.<p>

"George briefed me on the reporter situation. Well handled Colonel. We'll handle it from here. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. You and your team literally saved the world. The Air Medal is a nice start and should this ever become public, I'll be pushing for you each to receive the Medal of Honor. In the mean time, I just wanted to let you know, that if there's ever anything you need from Washington, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help." The President finished and then started leaving.

"Actually, sir?" Sam spoke up.

"Yes?" the President stopped and turned around.

"It's my father sir. He's dying. Lymphoma." She began.

"I'm very sorry Major. As a member of our Armed Forces, he'll already be receiving the highest care we can provide. But I'll see what I can do." The President offered.

"Thank you, sir. But that wasn't my request. I'd like to tell him, sir." Sam tried desperately to keep her emotions in check.

"About the program?" The President asked. Sam could only nod. He looked to Hammond.

"General Carter has an exemplary service record. I served with him myself. He's trustworthy. And he'd never ever to something that would endanger his daughter." Hammond assured him.

The President considered for a moment, then nodded to an attendant. "Bring him in." Jacob came in and stood at attention next to his daughter. "Jacob. I was very sorry to hear about your disease."

"Thank you, sir." Jacob answered.

"Now, I have to go, but I want you to understand that what these people are about to tell you is true, incredible and still highly classified. You've just been given clearance at the request of your daughter." The President saluted before leaving the room.

Hammond, as the ranking officer in the room ordered them, "At ease." then, "Major Carter, if you would like to explain to your father exactly how you received that medal?"

After the explanation, Jacob's first words were, "Holly Hanna. That certainly explains why you wouldn't want to go to NASA. I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah, while we don't do weightlessness much, we've been to space plenty. Plus, at NASA, no one shoots back at you. Gets to be pretty boring." Jack joked.

"And I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you that you've deserved that promotion for a long time Major." Hammond added. "I put you up for promotions after the incident with Hathor and with Apophis's invasion. I had been wondering why they were turned down. It seems the President wanted to do it himself."

"Thank you, sir." Carter grinned.

"I'm just glad I got to see it." Jacob gave his daughter a one-arm hug.

Suddenly Carter stiffened and her eyes got very unfocused.

"Carter?" O'Neill asked nervously.

"Whoa. I just had an idea. Or maybe a vision. The Tok'ra. Remember Yosuf said that Tok'ra have perfect health?" Carter began. "Cancer should be something they can cure. And we could find out from here. It would only take a phone call." she looked at her commander.

Hammond nodded. "Can't hurt to ask. Let's find a secure phone."

"What's going on?" Jacob asked as they walked.

"Well I don't want to get your hopes up, but I may have figured out a way to cure your cancer. You see there's a race of aliens that need human hosts to survive. One of the benefits they claim is that the people who host them receive perfect health. The downside is that you'd have to share your body for the rest of your life, but it should cure you. We're going to make a phone call right now to find out for sure." Sam explained.

They all sat around the speaker phone listening to the ringing. "Rupert Giles." Came the answer.

"Dr. Giles. This is Major General George Hammond of the US Air Force."

"Ahh yes. General Hammond. Xander notified me that you might be calling sometime. One moment." Giles put the phone down and called for Xander.

"General. I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon." Xander's voice was equal parts curiosity and warning. He had been very specific about them leaving him alone for now. And he really wasn't in the mood with his conflicting feeling for Martouf/Lantash going through his head right now.

"Well we have a situation here. I'm going to turn you over to Major Carter now and let her explain it." Hammond nodded to Sam.

"_Major_ Carter?" Xander's voice softened. "Congratulations."

"Thank you. But I'm afraid I have some bad news. My father is dying. Lymphoma."

There was silence on the other end. Xander's mind was racing. Had they already learned about his healing device? He really couldn't deny Jacob Carter access to it. He had Samantha's feelings for her father and knew he was a good man. He was about to agree to let them use the device when Sam came back on.

"Is it true that a Tok'ra symbiote can cure cancer?" she asked.

"Well yeah, they can..." Xander was confused. Was that code for asking about the device?

"Selmak is sick. Do you think she could still heal my father's cancer?"

Xander finally got it. They had no idea about the healing device. He wanted to tell them to just come over and he'd cure him, but he also knew that might be dooming Selmak to death. "Umm... Yes. Sorry. This is just a bit much to take in right now. Your father with cancer. It just..." He took a deep breath. "Yes. She could heal cancer. (or the Tok'ra would use a healing device to heal it) And on a personal note: As the only people who know them both, we think Selmak and your father would get along great."

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Jacob asked.

"How do I put this? A part of me knows you very well." Xander smiled at his own answer. "Do you need help finding them again?"

"We shouldn't" Samantha answered. "Garshaw said that Selmak would be remaining on that planet until a new host arrived."

"She left her there?" Jolinar asked outraged. "That bitch!"

"Thank you!" Jack said. "At least Xander said what we were all thinking."

"Actually, that was Jo. But I agree. The Tok'ra retirement package could use some work." Xander added. "Would you have Selmak give me a call from Earth once he gets back? I'd like talk to him about some things."

* * *

><p>AN: Quotes from The Wizard of Oz and The Princess Bride used. Do not own.

I'm sure I screwed up the medal ceremony. What could or could not be said for work on a classified project... Any advice on that would be appreciated. I also pushed up the promotion. She deserved it.

This chapter also used the President of the United States. While I technically was using the fictional unnamed President already present in the SG-1 universe, I strove to represent him and the office with the highest respect.


	19. Chapter 23

Chapter 23.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better. Both are needed if you wish this fic to continue.

* * *

><p>Xander's thoughts/

%Jolinar's thoughts%

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Giles drove everyone over to the Library that morning. A bagged and blindfolded Ford sat between Martouf and Xander. A round-about trip to make sure Ford couldn't easily find Willow's house.<p>

They dropped Ford off in an empty classroom and told him to wait there while they talked about what they wanted to do with him. He sat down in a desk and folded his hands.

"So you came in a space ship?" Willow asked Martouf once they arrived at the library. "What was that like? It must have been exciting!"

Martouf smiled. "Yes, I did. Though it's not as exciting as you might think. It was a rather long trip. The most exciting part was dodging all the satellites in your upper atmosphere. There are quite a lot of them up there."

"That reminds me of a joke," Xander stated. "Two Aliens out in space were looking down on the planet Earth. The first alien said, 'It seems the dominant life-forms on Earth have developed satellite-based weapons.' The second alien asked, 'Are they an emerging intelligence?' 'I don't think so,' the first responded. 'They have the weapons aimed at themselves.'

Willow giggled and Giles smiled thoughtfully. Martouf frowned. "Is that true? You have satellite based weapons but they are aimed at yourselves?"

"Unfortunately the people of Earth have yet to unify as they need to. Though the United States, who controls the Stargate, is one of the dominant powers." Jolinar explained. "Looking back through the history of Earth, its people are able to come together to defeat great enemies. But so far, the people of Earth do not know about the Stargate or about the enemy they face. It's our belief that telling them would eventually result in the unification of most of the Earth as a single entity instead of a bunch of warring kingdoms."

Jolinar took a breath and continued, "There is greater diversity on Earth than on almost any other planet. It makes unification more difficult. Different tribes evolved at different rates. And many countries have been at war for generations. And while many people are fairly advanced and enlightened. Many are not. Knowledge of the Stargate and access to advanced technology may help equalize classes and eliminate some of the strife affecting the world today. Therefore, I would recommend that the Tok'ra council insist on making the Stargate public. Not as an ultimatum, but as a persistent request."

"I will pass on your recommendation to the council." Martouf agreed. "Are you sure they're as advanced as you think, though? Satellite weapons aimed at themselves is no joke."

"Advanced enough to build the components needed to build the healing device. Even if they don't know how to put it together yet." Jolinar assured them. "Apophis and Ra underestimated them to their detriment. Whether they're enlightened enough not to destroy themselves is the question. Still, they've had the technology to destroy themselves for 60 years now. They haven't quite managed it yet."

Once Jenny and Buffy arrived, they put Ford to a vote, whether to allow him to stay or not. Xander voted not. But Willow, Jenny, Giles, and Jolinar voted yes. Buffy just couldn't make up her mind and was perfectly happy to have her friends' help in that regard. Willow went to fetch him and they came back.

* * *

><p>"Well, we voted and we've decided to let you stay." Giles informed him. "Now, the question is, do you want to stay and if so, what can you contribute?"<p>

"Like money?" Xander jumped in. When everyone looked crossly at him, he asked, "What? That healing device was expensive."

"How much?" Ford didn't seem as offended as everyone else.

"Ended up being six grand." Xander stated. He was actually rounding down a little. Cost overruns and some parts that only came in certain quantities had pushed his original estimate up a little bit.

Ford didn't even think. "Done. I'll call my dad. He'd probably be willing to pay 3 times that. And it'd be worth it too. Heck, I'll call him right now." Before anyone could stop him he was on the phone. "Dad. Hi. No, I'm fine. Yeah, that free one I told you about turned out to be a scam. You were right. No. Wait. Hi Mom. I'm fine. Not right now. Could you put Dad on again? I have to talk to him. Bye. I love you too. Ok. You were right about the free one. I was actually saved from that by an old friend of mine. Do you remember Buffy Summers? Yeah, the one who burned down the gym. Anyway, she heard about me and pointed me towards a friend of hers. This one's legit. I toured the facilities and saw the cat scans and everything. There's a problem though. They're not on human trials yet. Well, I'm getting to that. For $15,000 they said they can sneak me into the primate trials. Well, I trust Buffy." he looked at her and smiled. "And they seem like good people." He took a deep breath. "Otherwise I'll keep looking. I'm not coming back for more chemo." He was silent for a moment and just listened. "Thanks dad. I love you too. I'll call you when it's done. Or have them call you if anything happens." Ford hung up the phone.

"So, what's next?" Ford asked.

It turned out that what was next was an analysis of the patrol from last night as well as an analysis of police reports so they could see where demons were likely attacking people. Xander led the briefing but kept everyone involved. He even asked Martouf and Ford if they had anything to add. Martouf didn't, but Ford knew quite a bit about the demonic activities around the motel he was staying at. They made plans to sweep the area that night with Ford acting as guide. His first official action as a (provisional) Scooby. Xander also got a payment from Giles on his car. Xander left to 'pick up something new or maybe old' he said.

* * *

><p>"So this is the Stargate?" General Carter asked<p>

"Yup." Major Carter answered.

"And it sends you to other planets?" Jacob clarified.

"Chevron 7 locked." Sergeant Harriman reported over the intercom. The Stargate went kawoosh and Jacob gasped in amazement.

"How about them apples, huh?" O'Neill joked.

"Incredible!" Jacob acknowledged.

"Let's go, Dad." Carter started up the ramp.

"Does it— what does it feel like?" Jacob stalled.

"You've handled worse, Dad." Carter smiled. It was nice to be braver than her father in this.

"It's a piece of cake, sir." O'Neill assured him before guiding him in.

* * *

><p>They got to the Tok'ra base, or what was left of it. Just a ring transporter and three hallways that didn't go far. After the introductions between Selmak and Jacob, Saroosh came out.<p>

"I'm the one to whom you should be talking." Saroosh said.

"You're the host then?" Jacob asked.

"I am Saroosh. I am in the position to help you most." she stated

"How's that?" General Carter wondered.

"I have lived with Selmak for 200 years." Saroosh explained.

"I see." Jacob acknowledged.

"Selmak is a wonderful Tok'ra. She is selfless and caring, she is good company. She has a wonderful sense of humor." Saroosh went on.

"Well that's good Dad, you can sit around for hours cracking yourself up." Sam joked.

"That's funny." Jacob didn't laugh.

"She's not far wrong. I've had almost two hundred years of laughter thanks to Selmak. I'm biased, of course, but I believe that Selmak is among the best educated of the Tok'ra. You will probably be overwhelmed by the knowledge and wisdom you will gain upon blending." Saroosh gushed.

"Okay. What do I do?" Jacob wondered.

#"First, Selmak would like to interview you."# the attendant stated.

"Huh?" Jacob wondered.

#"If I am to spend the next hundred or more years with you as my host, do you not think I have the right to decide if I even like you?"# Selmak spoke up.

"Oh, I thought it was this or we both die. Right?" Jacob clarified.

#"Having a poor host could be worse than death. Tell me, how do you feel about the Goa'uld?"# Selmak asked.

The attendants left and took Sam out with them.

"I don't know. I've never met a Goa'uld. Although from what Sam and her people tell me, I don't think I like them much. As I understand, my daughter has been fighting them for a year now. If they're her enemy, they're my enemy." Jacob stated.

#"Interesting. Tell me, sir, are you a good man?"# Selmak asked

Jacob laughs, "You're kidding, right?"

Selmak shakes her head. #"No, we'll be spending the rest of our lives together."#

"Well, to answer your question, I try. But I'm a little confused. I was under the impression that this was more of a shotgun wedding." Jacob wondered.

#"I do not understand."# Selmak asked for clarification.

"Well, either we do this or we both die. Right? So my point is, good man, bad man, what difference does it make? We don't have a choice. And I don't mind telling you the whole idea scares the hell outta me. So can we just get it over with?" Jacob asked.

#"I have decided I like you."# Selmak announced.

"Super." Jacob stated.

#"But I must be sure that you understand there will be no turning back. I cannot blend with you, cure your disease, then leave. To do so, would probably kill us both."# Slemak stated the rules.

"I understand. Let me ask you something, though. After we do this, will I still be able to talk to my daughter?" Jacob asked the only question that really mattered to him.

#"The way Saroosh talked to you, yes. But you and your daughter must understand the blending may not work at all. I am very weak, and the damage to your body may be too extensive."# Selmak explained.

"In other words, we might die anyway." Jacob clarified.

#"Yes."# Selmak agreed.

"Then can you give me five with my kid?" Jacob asked.

#"Of course."# Selmak allowed.

After a tearful goodbye where Jacob told Sam just how proud he was of her, the blending began.

* * *

><p>Then they waited. Finally Jacob opened his glowing eyes.<p>

"Dad?" Carter asked.

#"Pinochet?"# Selmak asked.

#"I am here."# Pinochet stepped forward.

#"It went well. The damage was not as severe as I had feared."# Selmak explained.

"Uh, is my Dad in there somewhere?" Sam asked.

Selmak nodded and Jacob comes back, "I'm here, Sammy. Oh man, talk about your hangover." he grabs his head.

Sam looks concerned, "How are you Dad?"

"I'm awful. Headache the size of Kuwait. There's too much stuff in here." He jumps off the bed, "Whoa!"

"What?" Samantha asks, alarmed.

"No more arthritis!" He jumped around a bit and flexed his fingers, "Holy Hannah! No more arthritis!"

Sam gives him a relieved smile. "Come on Dad. Let's go home. Jolinar wanted to talk with you once you were blended."

Jacob stopped walking and nodded his head. Selmak came back. #"Jolinar is alive? I thought she died in you?"#

"She did." Carter explained. "But it seems that he was cloned into a boy on Earth."

#"And he is still on Earth? Why has he not joined the Tok'ra at the new base?"# Selmak wondered as they walked to the ring platform.

"Well, it's a long story." Carter explained. "We'll explain what we know back at the SGC, then you can call him and maybe he'll explain more to you then."

* * *

><p>Xander returned to the library an hour later with a bundle of 1 inch diameter, wooden dowels and a machete.<p>

"Xander, what is this?" Giles wondered when the young man set the bundle of 6 foot long dowels on his table.

"New weapons. Or old. Depending on how you look at it." Xander pulled a dowel out of the pack. He braced it on the table with Willow's help and took a couple whacks at it with the machete. He almost had a serviceable spear when Willow leaned a little closer and her breast accidentally touched his arm. His last shot missed the mark and turned an almost complete spear into a much shorter dowel again. "Oops. This one can be Buffy's. A full size one would have been too big for her anyway." Xander tried to cover his gaff.

"That had better not be a 'short' joke mister." Buffy warned.

"No, Xander's right. A full sized spear would be a bit big for you. Even with your strength, it would be awkward." Giles came to Xander's defense. "But I don't think we can use these Xander. We can't walk around town carrying spears."

"Not during the day, no." Xander agreed. "And not at the Bronze, even at night, but there are a lot of places that we regularly patrol where no one is going to notice anyone carrying a spear. They give the human members patrolling tonight extra reach that way." Xander explained. "No one has to carry one, but I'm going to tonight and I'll recommend that everyone else do so as well." Xander finished reshaping the spear and tossed it to Buffy.

Buffy grabbed the short spear out of the air and twirled it around her body in a series of complicated patterns too fast for the merely human people present to follow. Then she lunged at Xander and stopped the very sharp point of the spear just short of his heart. Xander stood perfectly still until her 'attack' was done and then stretched out his arms to show that he was still short of being able to grab her.

"If you can kill them without putting yourself in the grasp of superhuman predators, I call that a win." Xander reasoned.

It was hard to argue with the impromptu demonstration. Giles wasn't entirely convinced and insisted that everyone still take stakes and crosses as backup. Which Xander heartily agreed with. He also demonstrated, with Willow's help, how to use the spear if a vamp got in too close. Another accidental boob-brush and he lost his train of thought. Instead deciding that it would be best to just drop the spear and pull a stake and cross.

Then they went over the plan for that night. Apparently the motel area was a hotbed of demonic activity. They decided that it would be a full sweep with everyone involved. They'd stay tightly packed to support their weaker members, but would still be sweeping a very large area. Far larger than Buffy could sweep on her own.

Ford would take point with Xander to show him the area and where different demons tended to hang out. Buffy would take the left wing of the sweep. Xander put Willow next to her. Then Martouf, Giles and Angel rounding out the right flank. Jenny, after promising to take very good care of it, would be driving Giles' car. She had extra stakes, spears, holy water and crossbows in case they were needed. Xander had insisted that Jenny and Giles and Buffy and Angel not work side by side. He didn't explain why to the newcomers. Buffy and Giles at least blushed. Jenny looked rather smug.

"Not that they were that expensive, but any chance of getting compensated by the council for these?" Xander handed over the receipt to Giles.

Giles frowned. "The council is not made of money, Xander."

"Sure you guys are. You're an old secret organization. Things like that are always rolling in the dough." Xander retorted.

Giles just shook his head.

"What? You mean there's no black helicopters with a hundred commandos ready to back us up if anything goes wrong?" Xander asked.

"No. The council doesn't have its own wet work team. Should something like that be necessary, they have some contacts in the SAS and former SAS, but if you were thinking of using them against your NID friends, I'm afraid that just wouldn't work. It would be a diplomatic nightmare." Giles shook his head. "Though diplomacy is about all they are really good at. Getting Watchers and Slayers into and out of countries that might otherwise be hostile towards such things." Giles explained. "But the entire council operates on a very small budget. Even the full time employees such as myself must either take an additional job or have a partner with a job in order to make ends meet. It makes recruiting rather difficult. _'Would you like to join a life of poverty and boredom occasionally interrupted by stark, raving terror?'_ Makes a poor recruiting poster."

"But I thought they were this super-old society. Shouldn't they be rich and powerful by now?" Xander complained.

"The council has outlived thousands of organizations and even governments that were both richer and more powerful than they." Giles countered. "However, they are not a government or the Vatican. They lack the taxes and tithes that organizations like that command. There is very little actual income generation and thus they must maintain tight control of the money they do have or risk having to sell some priceless artifacts for nothing near what they're worth."

"So, no help from the council? Then what good are they?" Xander wondered.

Giles scratched his temple. "Well, besides paying me... at least a little. Research. Much of my collection comes from them or from contacts I got through them."

Xander considered this new information. At least one of his contingency scenarios was now a bust. The council riding in to save the day was never going to happen. But maybe the diplomatic avenue could be worked. It was an idea for later.

* * *

><p>For now it was time for dinner. Ford was taken to Giles' apartment and Xander and Martouf went home with Willow. They played PaperRock/Scissors to decide who would make dinner and who would do the dishes. Willow won. So Xander showed Martouf the healing device while she cooked.

As they walked down the stairs Martouf asked, "What was that game you played to decide who would do what?"

"It's called Paper/Rock/Scissors," Xander explained. "There are three options, each one beats one and loses to one other."

"And you lost?" Martouf confirmed.

"Well, I don't know about that." Xander smiled. "This way, none of us has to eat my cooking. Me included. Besides, I'm used to loosing to Willow. She knows I always throw the Scissors."

"Is that wise? Surely you should vary your attack somewhat?" Martouf wondered.

Xander shook his head. "Nah. You see, when we were really young, Willow and I had another friend, Jesse, who's dead now. But he and I got into an argument over which of us was going to marry Willow when we grew up. So we played Paper/Rock/Scissors. Jesse threw Paper, I threw Scissors, so I won. I've thrown Scissors every time I've played since."

Martouf wasn't quite sure what to say to that. It was clear that the young man had feelings for the girl. And if he couldn't be with Jolinar right now, then he wouldn't stand in the way of their happiness. But for now, he'd content himself with the fact that she was alive and study the piece of machinery she and her host had built.

"This is quite impressive. While not as portable as a normal healing device. It's amazing that you were able to reproduce it at all with such limited means." Martouf complimented.

Xander didn't take it quite as a compliment. "Which is why the Tok'ra will never beat the Goa'uld. You're not innovators." He motioned to the chair. "The Goa'uld and Tok'ra have been playing the same game by the same rules for thousands of years. I'm going to warn you right now. We humans? We're changing the rules of the game. Whether the Tok'ra like it or not. And whether Earth can provide hosts or not, the Tok'ra need to ally with Earth or be left in the dust."

Lantash apparently took offense at those words. #"Insolent fool. The Tok'ra were fighting this war long before whatever ancestors you can trace back were born. We'll be fighting it long after you're dead."#

"That's just it though. You aren't fighting a war. Not like humans fight a war. Compared to how we do business you've been playing games. Or at best, fighting a delaying tactic. You weren't fighting to win. 'Just Win Baby.' is one of our mottoes. And I can tell you right now that the Goa'uld are going to learn exactly what that means very soon." Xander said calmly. "Come on. It's time for dinner."

* * *

><p>The sweep would be tight. With everyone able to see the people next to them. It meant that they wouldn't need their radios unless something went wrong. So of course, Murphy had to make an appearance.<p>

The area around the motel was every bit as thick with vampires and demons as Ford had indicated. Xander and Ford at point mostly kept an eye on things letting most demons get by them and into the trap set behind them. Giles was quite skilled with his crossbow and with his sword if anything got past that. Lantash proved that though he had little experience, the Tok'ra was not to be taken lightly. Buffy and Angel covered the wings and made sure nothing escaped. And even Willow was able to impale a vampire. Or rather she closed her eyes and it impaled it self. But that gave her some confidence and Xander smiled as she held off another vamp until Lantash could back her up.

All in all, it was a good if rough display of teamwork.

Then things went wrong. They ran into a group of demons and vampires, larger than they'd run into that night. Xander and Ford jumped into the fray. Jolinar had to take over to keep them out of trouble and protect Ford as well. Behind them, everyone else was being overwhelmed as well. Everyone except for Buffy and Angel. Angel finished his minions and started helping Giles. But Buffy had decided to take some time to rob the ones fighting her before she staked them. That left Lantash and Willow on their own. Lantash was holding his minions off with his spear while retreating to give his teammates time to come to his rescue. Willow was not nearly good enough to do the same. She took a blow to the head and dropped to the ground; not moving.

"Willow!" Xander shouted. He threw the crossbow to Ford and ordered him to, "Help Buffy." while he ran to Willow's prone form while yelling into his radio. "Jenny! Willow's down." He didn't wait for the acknowledgment but knew the teacher would be on her way. By the time he got to her all but one of the vamps had moved off for a new fight. But one picked her up and was about to feed on her unconscious body.

Xander let out a roar of rage. And Xander, not Jolinar, felt his eyes grow bright and a burst of speed and strength filled his limbs. It was a bit like the merge, only he could still feel Jolinar. He took his spear and jammed it straight through the vampire's head, which exploded into dust. Xander grabbed Willow before she hit the ground and gently cradled her while checking for a pulse.

/Still alive./ Xander sighed in relief. He took off his t-shirt and laid Willows head on it before laying her back on the ground.

%If we get her to the healing device quickly, there should be no permanent damage.% Jolinar assured him.

/Anyone else injured?/ Xander asked.

%No. Though Ford and Buffy still have two vampires remaining.% Jolinar informed him. %Jenny is here.%

Xander looked up. Miss Calendar was just pulling up. She put the car in park and rushed over to them. "What happened?" She sounded a little panicky.

There was quite a lot of blood, turning Willow's hair an even darker shade of red. But head wounds always bleed a lot. And she wasn't yet in any danger of dying from blood loss. "She hit her head. Don't suppose we brought any towels?" Jenny shook her head. "Fine. I'll carry her. You help stabilize her head." He ordered. They ended up having to bend Willow's knees before she could lay in the back seat of the car. Xander didn't move to the front seat once she was in though, and just squatted in the leg area of the back seat. Jenny tried to get him to sit down, but he snapped at her to just drive.

A silent ride to Willow's was interrupted by radio chatter.

"Jenny. What's going on?" Came Giles' voice.

"Willow got hurt. We're taking her back to her house." Jenny answered. "Why don't you guys meet us back th-"

"At the library." Xander cut her off.

"At the library." Jenny repeated. "Did you get that?"

"Right, we'll see you at the library." Giles confirmed.

Two minutes later, they pulled up to Willow's house and Jenny again helped steady Willow's head. Though she had to let go as they went down the stairs as there just wasn't enough room to do that going down the narrow stairwell. She helped Xander shift his arm to support her head better instead. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he laid Willow down in the dentist's chair but waited until Jenny joined him to gently lift her head from his arm. Once she was in place he flipped the switches to power the device and then had to wait impatiently while the machine charged up.

"Xander?" Jenny began.

"Xander is under a lot of stress at the moment." Jolinar answered. "Perhaps it could wait until later?"

Jenny nodded then stepped back to watch as Jolinar activated the device and moved it around Willow's head. The bleeding stopped almost immediately, though Jolinar continued to move it all around her head, fixing whatever unseen problems that were there. Finally he moved the device aside and stared into Willow's face. When she didn't wake up, he lifted each of her eyelids. Satisfied with the results, he dropped the second eyelid.

"She should be fine." Jolinar assured the computer teacher. "We have repaired all the damage, but being knocked unconscious is not something you can just jump back from. Even with this device. She'll have a headache when she wakes up." He paused. "Perhaps you could clean her up before we put her to bed? I dare say, she wouldn't forgive me if I allowed Xander to see her naked."

Jenny agreed and Jolinar carried Willow up two flights of stairs to the upstairs bathroom and laid her in the tub. "If you need us, we'll be down in the kitchen." he said before they left the girls in the bathroom.

* * *

><p>It's my fault./ Xander stated as they sat in the living room instead of the kitchen.

%It's not your fault.% Jolinar argued. %Bad things happen on missions. We both know that.%

/And worse things happen when you allow untrained people to go on those missions./ Xander argued back. /I should have never let her come. It was my op. That makes it my fault./

%And how would you have stopped her?% Jolinar asked. %She was determined to come on this mission. And we both know how determined she can be. She might have simply tried to sneak out with us and gotten captured or worse. No. She's still alive and we all learned some valuable lessons from this.%

"Like what!" Xander blurted out loud.

%Like you already pointed out; not allowing untrained people on missions. Now we have an example of the consequences of breaking that rule.% Jolinar offered.

/I already knew that./ Xander countered.

%You did, but your team didn't. They have to learn some lessons on their own or they'll never trust you on the big things.% Jolinar pointed out. %We also learned just how much you care for Willow.% Jolinar offered.

Xander swallowed. /I already knew that too./ he thought softly.

Jolinar was silent for a moment before he continued. %Perhaps it is time to tell _her_ that then?% Jolinar was really pushing just how far he was willing to meddle in his host's love life. But the arrival of Martouf and Lantash had changed his thoughts on his original idea to not interfere. He just couldn't stand the thought of being lonely, even with his funny host to keep him company. And he wanted Martouf to move on as it would never work out with them now. He comforted himself that he was only helping along feelings that were already there and mutual to both humans.

The phone ringing shocked them out of their reverie. "Rosenberg residence." Harris answered for his sleeping friend.

"Ah good. Xander." Giles replied. "How is Willow?"

"She'll be fine, but she's still unconscious." Xander answered. He became aware that the water in the tub had just shut off. He hadn't noticed it turn on. "Is everyone else ok?" realizing he hadn't really checked to make sure everyone was ok before he'd evacuated Willow.

"Yes, everyone is fine. I'm just calling to let you know that a friend of yours _from out of town_ called." Giles said slyly.

"I see. Did he and Marty talk at all?" Xander asked.

"Yes, umm... Marty explained the situation and your other friend said that he would stick around until tomorrow morning if the three of you wanted to talk then." Giles summarized.

"Alright. I'll be in before school tomorrow then. You want to bring Marty over early as well?" Xander asked.

After agreements to meet the next morning and mutual 'thank you's they both hung up.

Jenny came down the stairs, "She's cleaned up and sleeping."

"Thanks Miss C." Xander replied, looking up. "Sorry if I was a bit short with you earlier." he apologized.

"You were worried for her. You care for her." They weren't questions. They were statements. "Maybe you should tell her that?" Jenny asked.

"Funny. That's what Jo said." Xander smiled and stood up. "I think I'll go check on her. If you want to stay here for the night, the guest room should still be made up from when Ford stayed last night."

"Thanks," she said as they both walked back upstairs.

* * *

><p>Captain Turner had mixed feelings about going out tonight. They were field testing the 2nd generation of Zat weapons, which was good. They were lighter, faster to recharge, and packed a more consistent charge than the first generation. The downside was that they had no idea where the Slayer was or if she was still alive. She'd suddenly gone silent after encountering a Tok'ra, which was just another name for Goa'uld. And they hadn't heard from her at all tonight, which meant that they could stumble into her if they weren't careful.<p>

Being careful meant sticking close to campus, where the pickings were already starting to slim. Having so many HSTs escape after being electrocuted the first go round seemed to have warned some of the smarter ones off.

The other thing he was testing out were those new drugs they were giving the soldiers. He certainly didn't buy the 'vitamin' cover story. But he could already feel himself becoming faster and stronger, so he was more than willing to keep taking them. Anything to give him the edge when he finally met the Slayer again. No one had said anything, but he knew he was here to give these people the edge they'd need to take her down when the time came. For now, he satisfied himself by bagging a new HST and calling it a night.

* * *

><p>Maggie Walsh was frustrated. The 2nd generation of stun guns was being tested tonight. She didn't particularly care about that. But Colonel Maybourne himself was on base. Probably to check on his pet Slayer, who had suddenly gone dark. She would have smiled at that thought, but having him here made sabotage almost impossible. He watched her like a hawk. She was rather glad she hadn't bothered to nix the drug treatments they had ordered for the soldiers. Thanks to her efforts, it was probably the only positive thing to come out of this base.<p>

She had finally gotten the power supply they had been promising for their Frankenstein's Monster. Something called a naquadah reactor. It was big and bulky. Luckily, with it, the monster wouldn't need any internal organs or they'd never have room. Still, the power output was amazing. But it was also sealed and power generators weren't her field anyway, so she didn't bother to study it.

She looked up on the catwalk where Maybourne was briefing the soldiers in the Honey Trap op. The next semester of school would be starting soon and they'd be transferring in as student teachers. The original plans had called for them to be students. Ha! Maggie had really wanted to see how that went but one of the other scientists had pointed out that they looked nothing like teenagers.

Oh well. She would be patient and bide her time. It was a dangerous place to work after all. Perhaps Colonel Maybourne would have an unfortunate accident while on base. She thought about that for a while and decided she'd have to think about something other than his death while she reported it or risk breaking out in laughter. Too bad he wasn't likely to leave himself open to something like that.

* * *

><p>AN: I have no idea where the idea that the council was rolling in money ever came from. Sure, I saw them try to throw their weight around every so often, but it always looked like a guy in a Sumo suit rather than an actual Sumo wrestler to me. I suppose it was just convenient for writers to give the Scoobies hordes of cash when the council died. In reality, an organization like that would likely be running on a shoestring budget and scratching to make ends meet, year to year.

Much of the Blending of Selmak and Jacob was taken from canon. I try to avoid quoting either show too much, but this was too important to miss.

In Season 2, Episode 1; we learn that Xander always throws Scissors in P/R/S. Now you know why.

"Just Win Baby." Written not long after Al Davis of the Raiders died. RIP.

Stake to the head will also kill a vamp. It's just a small, better armored target that's harder to hit solidly than the heart.


	20. Chapter 24

Chapter 24.

A/N: Wow, I think I got a harsher reaction to making the council poor than I did trying to humanize Walsh. If anyone wants to show me something from the show that said they're rich, ok. But otherwise, everything I saw in the show said to me that they were monetarily poor. Sure, they have a lot of ancient texts, some land, and maybe some treasures that might be worth some money, but... not much actual cash to spare.

I don't write just to entertain. I write to make people think. So, I'm perfectly fine with you disagreeing with me vehemently as long as it makes you think. (Are you sure Maggie was evil? Are you sure the council was rich?)

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><p>I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.<p>

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better. Both are needed if you wish this fic to continue.

* * *

><p>Xander's thoughts/

%Jolinar's thoughts%

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Willow woke to find Xander slumped in a chair next to her, asleep but still holding her hand. It was very sweet, she thought. Up until the headache hit. "Oww." she moaned and grabbed her head with her free hand.<p>

Xander sat up and came awake. "You ok, Wills?" he asked anxiously, not letting go of her hand.

Willow looked down at that hand, swallowed and chewed on her lower lip nervously. "Fine. Head hurts a little." she said without making a complete sentence or meeting Xander's eyes.

Xander turned over the hand he held and put his other hand on her wrist. "Your pulse seems a little fast. You sure your ok?"

Willow turned as red as her hair. Xander was holding her hand in that special way like she'd been dreaming since forever. Of course her heart was about to explode out of her chest! She wasn't sure whether she should laugh, cry, or slap him for asking such a stupid question. Then she met his eyes looking at her like that and she just melted and forgot whatever it was she'd just been thinking about. "Huh?"

Xander frowned. Irregular heartbeat and confusion. The effects of the concussion she'd suffered last night seemed to be lingering despite his and Jolinar's best efforts. "That's it. We're calling you in sick today. We'll take you to the doctor to get a cat scan."

Willow reluctantly let go of his hand as Xander stood up and went to get Miss Calendar. Xander made the arrangements for Miss Calendar to call them both in sick to school that day and drive them first to Giles' apartment and then to the hospital. Willow was a little disappointed. They were going to miss the first day of Career Week at school. She'd been looking forward to that.

Willow climbed out of the car very disappointed. She'd sat in the back seat with Xander and had left her hand in the middle for him to grab again. But he never did. Even when a convenient bump in the road let her mover her hand slightly past the middle, he still didn't take the hint. _What did a girl have to do to grab a boy's attention?_ She wondered.

Xander was also in a subdued mood. He'd wanted to go straight to the hospital, but Jolinar had insisted that they stop by Giles' place to call Selmak first. Jolinar assured him that Willow would be fine with the short stop and they could pick up Ford to get tested as well. Xander knew the call to Selmak would be important to future Tok'ra/Earth relations so he gave in.

"Martouf and I talked for some time last night." Jacob began. "He explained to me that you are no longer able to impersonate a Goa'uld. And he told me of the work you're doing against creatures not seen since the time of Nun."

#"We have spoken with the Tok'ra high council and they have agreed that your place, for now, is on Earth."# Selmak continued, #"They have named you as the Tok'ra ambassador to Earth."#

"And they're naming me as the Earth's ambassador to the Tok'ra." Jacob finished. "It's going to be a little complicated. You're not going to be getting an official Embassy since the Tok'ra can't provide one either and doing so would effectively make the Stargate program public."

"Which they should probably do." Xander stated.

"Maybe." Jacob offered diplomatically. "Most of the council agrees with you on that position, but they've agreed not to press the issue so long as the current system is working out for both parties." Jacob outlined. "But let's get to what the rights and responsibilities of being ambassador are. First off is the big one, Diplomatic immunity. It means that you could walk into the NID base and try to kick them out and they couldn't prosecute you. Though, I'm not sure I'd trust the NID not to shoot you on sight from what I heard of them. Also, if you go overboard in whatever you do, the government can expel you from the planet. So keep that in mind. Similarly, your staff will also receive immunity, but the same conditions apply."

"Whoa. Staff? How am I supposed to hire a staff? I live in my parents' basement." Xander pointed out.

"The Tok'ra and the US government have come to an agreement of mutual support of each other's ambassadors. Due to the great distances and difficulties involved in directly supporting our own ambassador, the US government will be supplying you with a salary as well as housing and staff allowances." Jacob answered. "You'll also have Martouf's ship, which will be treated as a mobile Embassy. Meaning that it is sovereign Tok'ra territory."

"Yes." Martouf put in. "Your leaders were less than pleased that the Tok'ra had engaged a mission 'in their own backyard' to find you."

#"Yes, but they had to be sure."# Selmak reasoned.

"As part of the comprise, the SGC will be allowed to call you when they have need of a ship for a rescue mission or for other needs, which will likely mean getting to planets without a Stargate." Jacob went on. "It will be up to your discretion to use the ship as you see fit to defend the interests of Earth and the Tok'ra."

"Ok, this is really great. But we had a hard night last night and I have some people to take to the hospital. Is there anything else I need to know?"

In the end, Martouf agreed to leave via the Stargate and leave his ship behind, which made Xander ecstatic. The ship had a small stash a weapons, supplies, a ring device and all sorts of technology that he and Jolinar would be hard pressed to rebuild with out some serious money. Finally they were in business. Martouf would be catching a plane from LA that day to Colorado Springs. Jenny had already called in sick that day to take Willow to the hospital and volunteered to drive him to the airport after she dropped the other's off at the hospital. Xander slipped her a $20 and asked her to pick up some Twinkies for Martouf's ride home.

* * *

><p>Ford, Willow, and Xander went into the hospital together. Ford presented his insurance and requested a cat scan, saying that his headaches had mysteriously vanished the other day. Willow presented her insurance and asked for the same because she got hit in the head last night. The scans were over in 5 minutes each. Then they waited for the results.<p>

A couple hours later the radiologist came out looking very flustered. He put up a CT scan on one side of those light things. It looked a bit like a spider crawling on a brain. "This is your last scan in LA. As you can see, the cancer had spread all over your brain making surgery impossible." He put up another picture. It looked like a normal brain. "This is your brain today. Completely healthy. This doesn't happen. Cancer doesn't go away like this. At best, it goes into remission. But yours is gone."

Ford tried not to react. He'd known since his headaches went away that he was cured. But seeing concrete evidence of it was something else. He swallowed hard before asking, "Could you send these to my dad? He'd like to know. And could I use your phone to call LA?"

They were shown a room and Ford placed his call. "Dad? It worked." Ford had been calm up to that point, but the emotion on the other side of the phone obviously affected him greatly. "Yeah, my scans are clean." His voice broke and tears flowed freely down his face. He made no effort to wipe them away. "I'd love to see you guys too. But I'd really like to stay here for now. The work they're doing here... it's really important. They're saving a lot of lives." He choked out a laugh at what his father said, "actually, the pay is crap. For everyone. But I think I can make difference here." Ford assured his father as his voice got stronger again. "Hi mom," his voice broke all over again and the tears flowed freely. He laughed at whatever she said. "I'll be home soon. I love you too."

Willow took Ford into her arms and allowed him to cry on her shoulder for a few minutes. Xander definitely felt jealousy seeing that. When they came back out, the radiologist was still waiting. "Miss Rosenberg, your scans were also perfectly clean. Looks like there might have been a slight concussion. But based on the healing, it looks like it was weeks ago, not last night. I'd be more careful until that's fully healed, but it looks like the blow last night didn't do any new damage."

* * *

><p>The day was not over and Willow insisted on going to school to finish out the day. Ford too seemed eager, even happy at the thought of going to school. Apparently you appreciate school a lot more when you think you might be dying. Xander and Willow dropped Ford off to register for classes for real this time, then went to go find Buffy.<p>

"Willow!" Buffy jumped up at the sight of them. I'm so sorry. I should have been watching your back last night. But..."

"Buffy. It wasn't your fault and I'm ok. Xander healed me and I'm going to be fine." Willow assured her best friend.

"But it was my fault. I could have cut through those guys, but I was trying to mug them." Buffy admitted.

"You were what?" Xander asked darkly.

"I got the idea from you. After you got all that money selling their car." Buffy defended herself then handed Willow a small wad of cash. "$32.82. It's everything I got from them. I hope you can forgive me."

Willow tried to give the money back while Xander took some deep, calming breaths. "It's not your fault, Buffy." he finally admitted. "I never should have let her go out there. And no one untrained is going on patrol again. That includes her and Ford." Xander informed them.

"What includes me?" Ford walked up behind Xander.

"Oh, Xander's blaming himself for Willow getting hurt." Buffy answered. "He decided that you two can't go patrolling any more."

"Not until you're trained." Xander added.

"If you say so." Ford agreed easily. "For now, I'm registered for classes next semester. For real this time. Got a class list and everything. And they said I can participate in Career Week if I want to too."

"Good," Buffy said as Ford sat down with them. "You can help me decide if I like shrubs or not."

"Oh, I'm liking everything that's alive right now." Ford smiled.

Buffy shrugged. "Ok, I'll put yes for shrubs then." Then she threw down her pencil in frustration, "Uhhh! I shouldn't even be bothering with this. It's all mootville for me. No matter what my aptitude test says, we already know my deal."

"I don't know about that. A month ago I would have agreed with you. But today? I just can't help being excited about the future. And it's all thanks to Xander." Ford grinned at his savior. "Maybe he can pull another miracle out of his bag for you?"

Xander thought for a second. "He's not so wrong. I just found out this morning..." then he looked at Ford.

Ford threw up his hands. "Hey. I can leave if you guys need to talk about something."

"No!" Buffy exclaimed and delivered a pointed look at Xander.

Xander sighed, but decided that if they were going to trust him with one thing it would be hard to keep him out of the other. "Fine, you can explain it to him after school. _Alone. _ Anyway, I'm apparently going to be the new Tok'ra Ambassador to Earth. And that also means I'll get to hire a staff. Don't know how many or how much I could pay you. But, if you or Willow want a job, you've got it." After a pause, "and maybe Ford too."

"Attaché," Willow added.

"There you go Buff, you can carry my suitcase." Xander joked.

"No, Attaché is an Ambassador's assistant." Willow clarified.

Jolinar knew that, so Xander knew it. But the joke was funnier if he pretended that he didn't. So he just smiled.

The acerbic tones of Cordelia Chase floated over the air, "I aspire to help my fellow man. Check. As long as he's not smelly, dirty or something gross."

Xander looked at Cordy and smiled, "And speaking of smelly and gross, maybe we'll hire Cordy as the janitor."

"Eww. Gross. Like I would ever work for you period. Like you would ever have a job to offer." Cordelia laughed.

Xander just smiled calmly. "I'll hold you to that Cordy." he said as she walked away.

"Anyway, Jo and I were thinking about how you protect Sunnydale. Maybe you should join the police? Get paid to patrol. Instant authority and it would help you cover up the nastier side of town. Not to mention being allowed to be armed all the time. Big plus for a Slayer." Xander reasoned.

"Eww, Xander. I'm beginning to think you lost your sense of reason after Halloween." Buffy countered. "Can you see me wearing that uniform?"

"Then go undercover." Xander shrugged. "You can infiltrate all the gangs on PCP around here."

Xander's arm handed a note to Willow without looking at her. 'Make your move. -J' "Oh," Willow said softly.

"What was that Will?" Xander turned towards her.

"Oh! Umm... nothing. I was just thinking that that sounded like a good idea." Willow said supportively.

Buffy just gave her a confused look, shook her head, and went back to her test.

When they were all done, Willow took the tests, a deep breath, and then grabbed Xander's hand and walked with him to the test drop-off table. And Xander didn't pull away or yell at her or anything. In fact he looked both as happy and as nervous as she felt. And they walked to their next class hand in hand for the first time.

* * *

><p>Buffy keyed her radio. "Angel, you in the area?" she asked.<p>

"Pretty close, you need backup?" Angel asked.

"Kinda. A vamp just ran away from me after stealing something from a mausoleum. Short, mostly bald, glasses. Stake him if you see him." Buffy ordered.

"Which way did he go?" Angel asked for directions.

"If I knew that, I'd be chasing him instead of calling you." Buffy said exasperated.

* * *

><p>Willow was walking on air when she got into her house. Xander had walked her home, holding her hand the whole way and then on the porch, they had kissed. It was just a quick kiss, interrupted by Buffy's call for help. But Willow didn't even mind that. This time. It was just so wonderful to get her first kiss from Xander since 5th grade, when he had sworn off girls (and cooties) forever. It was amazing. She was sure she'd never felt this happy and might never feel this happy again. For now, she'd just bask in the glow she was currently experiencing.<p>

* * *

><p>Samantha Carter was taking that down time General Hammond had ordered. She was working on her Harley right now. But working on her bikes always made her think of her father. This time the image that came up was the last one she had of him. Him in the SGC Gateroom explaining to Martouf the wonders of the Twinkies and other snack cakes Martouf had brought with him. The thought made her smile as her eyes went unfocused for a minute. She sighed and shook her head to bring herself back to the here and now. And began working on the bike again.<p>

* * *

><p>Jack O'Neill, despite being Mid-Western born and bred, had never discovered the allure of ice fishing. He liked to be able to cast his lures and quite frankly, the idea of sitting on a few feet of ice in the freezing cold to catch fish just seemed a bit insane. Fishing was supposed to be relaxing and ice fishing seemed like anything but. Which, when he was given down time during the winter months left him with less to do. At least there was football. The nice thing about your team playing in the NFC Central division was that your team was never in last place. Unless your team happened to be the Lions, luckily his was not. And the Vikings weren't doing so bad this year. If the Packers didn't repeat, the Vikings might even get to lose the Superbowl this year. He sat down on his couch, popped a beer and turned on the game.<p>

* * *

><p>Xander watched from a distance as Buffy and Angel walked and talked. They weren't kissing and were at least paying fairly close attention to their surroundings, even if they didn't see him. He was just kind of annoyed at them for interrupting his kiss with Willow.<p>

%Calm yourself.% Jolinar ordered. %They're not doing anything wrong and Buffy was right to call in that vamp. Don't take your frustrations at not making a move on Willow until now out on them.%

Xander took a calming breath. He was getting better at managing anger. /I know./ He offered. /It was just really bad timing./

%She likes you. There will be other kisses. I'm sure of it.% Jolinar assured him.

/But that one was perfect./ Xander sighed. He got up and made his way back home.

They met up with a vamp on the way home and Xander got to take his frustrations out on it. It looked very confused when Xander explained that this was 'for interrupting his kiss with Willow'. Right before he dusted it.

* * *

><p>Colonel Maybourne threw down the briefing papers. It had all happened so fast. Even though he was here so they could respond quickly, they just didn't get the information from the SGC quickly enough to allow them to act on it. And those darn kids had practically stopped using their radios as soon as that snake had landed. And now, according to the reports from the SGC there was a Goa'uld calling itself a Tok'ra actually LIVING in Sunnydale. And worse than that, they had given the snake diplomatic immunity and named its ship as an Embassy making stealing the ship an act of war. He knew he'd never get clearance for an op that would result in war when they were still so poorly armed.<p>

Maybe it was time for some more direct surveillance.

* * *

><p>Cordelia paged through the list posted on the bulletin board outside. "Oh, here I am. 'Personal shopper or motivational speaker.' Neato!"<p>

Xander bit his tongue. "Right." he said sarcastically.

Cordy kept searching until she found the result she wanted. "Oh, what about you? You're..." she laughed and left.

%Prison Guard.% Jolinar read the result.

/Does that make you my prisoner?/ Xander quipped.

%Or you mine?% Jolinar joked back.

/Oh well. I think we have a career already planned out for us./ Xander noticed the girls and Ford coming across the lawn and headed their way.

"Good Morning, ladies." Jolinar took control. Bowed and kissed Willow's hand.

"Morning Jo." replied Buffy.

"You knew me?" Jolinar asked. "I thought that was sufficiently Xander enough to go unnoticed."

"It was the kiss." Buffy explained. "Xander would never..." but her words trailed off and her mouth hung open as Xander and Willow did just that.

Jolinar broke them apart. "That will be enough of that for now. We are still in school after all."

Xander tried to take back control. Their body twitched a little bit as they fought.

"Enough. I will give you the right arm. Ok?" Jolinar offered. "I just have to talk with Buffy for a bit."

Xander's right hand snapped and formed a thumbs up in answer then immediately snaked around Willow's waist and pulled her close.

"Well, it seems that your test confirms what we thought." Jolinar said to Buffy. "You have an aptitude for police work."

Buffy gave a sad moan. "Ungg. Well, I guess I'll just jump off that bridge when I come to it."

Jolinar shook his head at what he hoped was a bad joke. "Xander and I talked about this last night. Perhaps you have not had the best role models when it comes to the police? We checked this morning and there are some towns within a few hours drive where you could get a more accurate idea of what a real police officer does. All we have to do is call ahead for a 'ride-along' and you can, well, ride along and see a typical night for a typical police officer not having to deal with the supernatural."

"Yeah," Ford agreed. "LA isn't exactly a paragon of police work."

Xander's right hand, meanwhile had released Willow's waist and now had her hand and was rubbing it against their cheek.

"Xander, please." Jolinar said, sounding not unlike Giles.

"But the hellmouth?" Buffy wondered.

"Angel and I can handle it for one night." Jolinar assured her.

"Does this mean I'm not going to be your suitcase?" Buffy asked.

"Attaché." Willow corrected distractedly.

"No, but I have no idea what that might pay. And there's no reason you can't do both jobs." Jolinar explained. "So, you'll do the ride along tonight?"

"Can't tonight. Angel and I have plans." Buffy decided. "Maybe Wednesday?" Then she spotted Giles. "I have to go report in to Giles. And I blame Xander for the extra work I have to do; explaining what I do every night now." she slapped his right hand.

"You didn't check to see which seminar I was assigned to, did you?" Willow asked.

"I did, but you weren't on the list." Jolinar explained before giving up control.

"What do you-" Was all Willow got out before her mouth was covered by Xander's and she forgot what she had ever been upset about. They didn't stop kissing until Principal Snyder came by and yelled at them.

* * *

><p>Xander, Willow, and Ford were walking down the hall.<p>

"You know, you don't have to be here just for me, Will." Xander said as they walked down the hall holding hands. "I have to be here. But you could be anywhere."

"Anywhere in Sunnydale?" Willow wondered.

"Ok, good point." he said and brought her hand up to kiss it.

"Principal Snyder!" Willow Squeaked.

Snyder looked to be in his usual bad mood. "Where is she?"

Willow tried to look as confused as possible, "Who?"

"You know who." Snyder frowned even more deeply.

Willow faked recent understanding, "You mean Buffy? I just saw her..."

Snyder interrupts, "And don't feed me that 'I just saw her a minute ago, she's around here somewhere' story."

Willow gripped Xander's hand for support and tried to sound confident, "But I did... just see her a minute ago, and she is... behind you!" she points.

"Principal Snyder." Buffy intoned as she came down the stairs. "What do you want?"

"Just making sure you really were attending per our agreement." Snyder sneered. "So long as you're here, I have no more desire to be with you children." and he stalked off.

"Gosh that was fun." Buffy said sarcastically.

"So, where were you?" Willow wondered.

"There was a break in at a mausoleum last night. I was showing Giles which one on the map so he could check it out." Buffy explained.

"Sounds like fun." Xander joked then turned back to Willow. "You want to come with me for a seminar on standard riot procedures?"

"Sounds like fun." Willow agreed.

"And I'm going to go this way." Buffy said, not wanting to be near the new couple for too long.

"I think I'll go with her." Ford indicated. It was tough being the 3rd wheel with two new lovers.

Before they left though, two men in dark suits approached Xander and Willow. "Willow Rosenberg?" the shorter one asked.

Xander dropped Willow's hand and instead took her arm and pulled her behind him. Buffy also tensed and changed direction, placing herself behind the taller man. Even though she didn't come up to his armpits, Xander knew she would take him down easily if it came to it. She loved taking down people taller than her. (Which was almost everyone.) Ford stepped off to the side, but edged closer to Willow.

"Who are you?" Xander snapped.

"We're here for Miss Rosenberg." the dark suit answered cryptically.

Xander assessed the situation. There was a cop not 6 feet behind him and a Naval ensign 15 feet to the left. Both could be assets if he let the gentlemen make an aggressive first move. But they could be liabilities if they happened to identify themselves as authorities. The gentlemen also didn't seem particularly well trained. The tall one didn't seem to be aware that he'd been flanked.

"No one's going anywhere." Xander stated then motioned behind him with his head. "There's a cop right behind me. So don't try anything." Xander decided to show Buffy that cops could be the good guys.

"Is there a problem here?" a red-haired, female officer stepped up next to Xander.

"No problem." the shorter man reached into his coat.

Xander was happy to see the officer unsnap her gun at that motion. "Slowly now," she ordered. The Naval ensign also excused herself from her group and was making her way closer. Traffic through the intersection had stopped as kids stopped and stared.

The man wisely opened his jacket to show that he carried no weapon there before reaching into an inside pocket and pulling out a card. He handed it slowly to Xander.

"Microhard?" Xander exclaimed, "Why the hell didn't you just say so instead of acting like you were trying to kidnap her?"

Everyone seemed to relax at that. Xander straightened and gave a nod to the ensign, thanking her for her support. The two recruiters for Microhard were besieged by kids asking for jobs. They tried to make their way back to their sanctuary but the kids followed them in.

Xander watched them go then turned to the cop who had backed them up. "Thanks." he offered his hand and smiled.

"You're welcome." she smiled back. "Glad it turned out to be nothing. But you were right. They were definitely acting suspiciously." she paused. "Officer Patrice Jung. Santa Barbara PD." she said as she took the offered hand.

"You're a little ways away from home." Xander observed. "Xander Harris. This is Willow Rosenberg and Billy Fordham. And that's one of your new recruits." he motioned to Buffy.

Buffy stepped up and took her hand, "Buffy Summers."

The officer's demeanor changed immediately. She reached for her gun and leveled it at Buffy, who quickly kicked it away. Xander spun and threw Willow into Ford's arms. With her safe, he kicked the officer in the back of the knees; as she fell Buffy aimed a kick for where her midsection used to be. Teeth went flying as her body flew into the cinder block wall. Whether she was unconscious before or after she hit the wall didn't really matter.

The ensign from earlier came up trying to sort our what had happened. "What happened?"

"Stand down, ensign." Xander ordered. The lady stopped advancing, but was clearly waiting for him to identify himself before obeying any orders. "Captain Sam Carter, US Air Force." It wasn't a lie. At least part of him was Sam. He belatedly remembered that Samantha was now a Major. "This is an undercover operation so I don't have any ID on me, but if you'll come with us while we secure this prisoner, I can let you talk to my superiors." Xander offered, his voice in full on soldier mode.

* * *

><p>Buffy carried the disarmed cop. Xander gave the ensign the gun in the ankle holster before arming himself with the cop's side arm. He also took her radio, ring, and a belt knife. They took the weapons from the book cage, to the astonishment of the ensign, before tying up and locking the police officer in there.<p>

Then Xander called Hammond. He had the ensign pick up another extension once it started ringing. "Hammond." came the answer.

"General. Xander here." Xander began. The ensign gave him a confused look. "And I'm with an ensign..."

"Ensign Lisa Foreman, sir." she stood at attention, even over the phone.

"This had better be good, Mr. Harris." Hammond warned.

"Rather bad actually. We were attacked by someone in broad daylight. Ensign Foreman witnessed the attack. And I apologize, but I had to use Major Carter's credentials to secure her co-operation." Xander explained.

Hammond sighed. "We'll come back to that. First, Ensign Foreman, are you still there?"

"Yes sir!" she answered.

"Name, rank, and serial number." Hammond barked. When he had that information and her Commanding Officer's name he went on, "Ok, while Mr. Harris doesn't _currently_ hold any rank with the military, he does have many more years of knowledge and experience than you would think. And while that means that you don't have to salute him, he does have the full cooperation of the US Military and you do need to do anything he asks. We just haven't been able to get him his credentials yet. Is that clear?" Hammond implied that Xander had military experience, which wasn't exactly a lie.

"Yes sir!" she answered.

"Good. Now Mr. Harris and anything he's said or done is all classified Top Secret. You'll be receiving some non-disclosure documents to sign when you get back to base. You are not to repeat anything you see or hear there to anyone. Now put Mr. Harris back on." Hammond ordered.

Once the ensign hung up, Xander closed the door to Giles' office to give them a little privacy. "I believe we were attacked by an assassin, sir."

"Are you sure?" Hammond asked.

Jolinar took over. "No. But the style was very similar to that of a Zatarc. It's a type of Goa'uld assassin. However, we found no evidence of Goa'uld technology on her. Once Dr. Giles gets back, I'll have him look at the ring we found on her. It's the only piece of identification we found. I'll keep you in the loop. Did you want us to do anything with Ensign Foreman?"

"It would probably be best to send her home before she finds out too much." the general reasoned.

Xander heard the door to the library open and took over, "I think Giles is back. Talk to you later." and hung up.

"Xander, why is there a police officer in my book cage?" Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"One sec Giles." Xander addressed the young Naval officer. "Ensign Foreman, General Hammond agreed with me that secrets are easier to keep when you don't know much. So, thank you for your help. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir." The ensign stiffened to attention but repressed the urge to salute before walking smartly out of the library.

Once she was gone he addressed the watcher. "Ok Giles, we think the cop might be an assassin. She was friendly but attacked Buffy as soon as she learned her name." Xander explained as he tossed Giles the ring she was wearing. "This is the only thing other than weapons she had on her."

"Oh dear." Giles said as he examined the ring.

Buffy made a face. "I hate it when you say that."

* * *

><p>AN: The NFC North division was still the Central division back then. All teams are copyrighted by the NFL and/or their respective owners. The Vikings have yet to win a Superbowl.

On the police. I believe this was around the time of the Rodney King beatings. (in canon, Xander mentioned brutality) Being from LA, Buffy would be very familiar with that and would probably have an opinion colored by that and the incompetence of the SunnyD squad. Not the best role models.

I didn't catch the actual rank of the recruiter, but she was wearing dark blue which I think means navy.

The logo for "the world's leading software concern" in the show looked suspiciously like the Window's logo. And like Microsoft, they were based out of Seattle. I just went ahead and made it official. But I don't own either the real company or the fake one.

Ensign Lisa Foreman: I'm sure there'll be a character named Eric Cuddy soon enough.


	21. Chapter 25

Chapter 25.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

**Please review! ** Compliments make me write faster; criticisms make me write better. Both are needed if you wish this fic to continue.

* * *

><p>Xander's thoughts/

%Jolinar's thoughts%

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Just a reminder: in my world, the laws of conservation of energy apply here. So the Zats work like Tasers on steroids. One shot disables, two may kill, three or more will almost certainly kill, but additional shocks after death can sometimes revive dead people (like shock paddles). Three never, ever disintegrates.<p>

* * *

><p>"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." Giles paced in front of the students.<p>

"Giles, you're making me dizzy." Buffy complained. She had never seen her watcher so agitated, not even that time she faced the Master. It was unnerving.

"It- It's just a lot to take in and it's all happening at once." Giles stopped pacing and leaned on the table. "We'll start with the book that was stolen a few weeks ago. It was written by Josephus du Lac. He belonged to a religious sect that was excommunicated by the Vatican at the turn of the century."

"I'm guessing it wasn't a 'Taste of the Vatican' cookbook." Buffy joked

Giles shook his head. "No, the, uh, book was said to contain rituals and spells that reap unspeakable evil. However, it was written in archaic Latin so that nobody but the sect members could understand it. And it was his tomb that was robbed last night."

"The book was in a code. They just stole the key." Jolinar figured out. At the stares from his fellows, he went on. "Tok'ra are spies. Cryptography isn't so much a hobby as a way of life for us."

"That is so cool. I still can't get over how you're part alien." Ford added.

"Yes... well. Moving on." Giles stammered.

"So you're saying these vampires went to all this hassle for your basic decoder ring?" Buffy wondered.

Giles was a bit taken aback by her insightfulness. "Uh, actually, yes, it's possible. And if they are able to read the book now, we may be in serious danger very soon. There are some very dark spells supposedly in that book. But the more urgent issue is the Order of Taraka." Giles fished the ring out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "This ring is worn only by members of the Order of Taraka. It's a society of deadly assassins dating back to King Solomon."

Xander laughs. "And didn't they beat the Elks this year in the Sunnydale adult bowling league championships?"

Giles isn't amused. "Their credo is to sow discord and kill the unwary. I think the best thing we can do is to find a secure location. Somewhere out of the way Buffy can go until we decide on the best course of action."

"Bowling is such a vicious game." Xander jokes again.

"That's enough, Xander!" Giles yells.

Xander is calm. "I'll say. _You_ need to stop panicking."

Giles keeps yelling, "I am not," deep breath and a bit calmer, "panicking."

"Really?" Xander asked sarcastically, "Cause neither you nor Buffy looks freaked at all." It was Xander's turn to take a deep breath. "Now let's sit down and think of some jokes. Once we're in the mood, then we'll deal with Taraka."

Giles didn't sit instead he started pacing. "They're a breed apart, Xander. U-unlike vampires they have no earthly desires, but to collect their bounty. They find a target, and, uh... they eliminate it. You can kill as many of them as you like, it won't make any difference. Where there's one, there will be another, and another. They won't stop coming until the job is done. Each one of them works alone. In his own way. Some are human, some... a-are not. Y-you won't know who they are until they strike."

"Been there. Done that." Xander scoffed. And turned to the rest of the group. "Now, we've got a live one to get information out of. Ford, are you ok with torturing an assassin?"

Ford nodded. "I could read her the story Buffy wrote in 5th grade." He agreed with a joke.

Giles slammed his hands down on the table. "Do none of you understand the danger here?"

Xander waved him away. "You go have a cup of tea and panic in your office Giles. Research that Du Loc stuff while we deal with the assassins. Or better yet, call your council buddies and see if they can get the hit called off." Then he turned and ignored the open mouthed watcher. "Ok, Giles seems to think that hiding would be a good option. If these guys are as good as he thinks, that seems like a reasonable suggestion. And career week seems like a good time to do it. How do you feel about living in a spaceship while we prepare for these guys?"

"Really?" Buffy smiled for the first time since Giles said 'Taraka'.

"I've got a cloaked spaceship." Xander offered. "A low-earth orbit should keep us perfectly safe until we can come up with a plan." Then he snapped his fingers. "Weapons, we're going to need weapons. Stakes aren't going to cut it against these guys."

Xander went to the phone and dialed. "General. Good news. The assassins are supernatural. The bad news is that there's probably more than one of them. Thanks. We'll be able to deal with it ourselves, but we could certainly use a little logistical support. Well, guns to start with. Well, yes. But only if you want us running around Sunnydale with staff weapons. It's a possibility, but the NID manages to keep their teams hidden, I'm sure we'll manage. No. 9mm rounds just bounce off some supernatural things and M16s are too bulky. Do you have any P90s? We'll take four of them. And the standard extended recon loadout for an SG team? That sounds good. Thank you sir. We'll stop by and pick it up later." Xander hung up.

He then turned back to the rest of the Scoobies. "Ok, we need something to roll the assassin up in. Sunny D residents may overlook a lot of things, but carrying around someone dressed as a cop might not be one of them."

A rug was fetched and the assassin was rolled into it. Buffy carried her out with Ford opening the doors. Willow placed a hand comfortingly on Giles' shoulder. "You find a way to stop them Giles, we'll keep her safe until you do." she assured him.

Xander waited at the doors for her. "We'll keep our radios on. Call us when you find something. Keep trying until we get back." he talked to Giles' back.

* * *

><p>"Oh my gosh, we're in Colorado already? Oh, look at all the snow! It's so pretty!" Willow squealed.<p>

"And that's Cheyenne Mountain." Xander said pointing, "The SGC is under that."

"Cool." Buffy said as she and Ford came forward. They had spent the short trip talking together. Ford said he understood what it was like to live with a death sentence on your head. She certainly seemed calmer since they left the assassin bound and gagged in Ford's old hideout.

Xander adjusted the frequency of the radio in the tel'tak to the SGC's frequency. "This is Xander of the Tok'ra. Is General Hammond available?"

"One moment your Excellency, while I patch him through." a voice answered.

"Is that Sergeant Harriman I hear?" Xander asked. "How are the wife and kids, Walter?"

"Umm, they're fine sir. I mean your Excellency." Harriman answered unsure how the Tok'ra ambassador knew of his wife and kids. Or his first name for that matter."

While they waited, Buffy asked, "Why are they calling you excellency?"

But it was Willow who answered. "It's the standard title for an Ambassador like Xander."

"This is General Hammond, Ambassador Harris. And if you're done teasing my sergeant, the supplies you requested are ready just outside the escape hatch, ready for you to ring them up."

"Thank you General." Xander replied. "I'm sure there'll be a way for me to pay you back sooner or later."

Hammond chuckled. "I'm sure there will be, soon enough. Take care of yourself." He was really starting to like the young man. Reminded him of the snark of Colonel O'Neill combined with the brilliance of Major Carter. Throw in the Tok'ra's knowledge and you almost had SG-1 rolled into one. Almost.

* * *

><p>"Buffy are you there? Come in?" the radio crackled.<p>

"Angel? It'sh Giles here." Giles slurred.

"Giles? Where's Buffy?" Angel demanded.

"Gone." Giles answered. "But she's shafe. The Order of Taraka can't get to her... and whatever Spike ish up- up to she'll be safe from that as well."

"Giles, have you been drinking?" Angel asked.

"It seemed like the thing to do." Giles admitted.

"Giles, we have to help Buffy." Angel demanded.

Giles sniffed. "I called the Watcher's Council. They said they'd do what they could to get the hit on Buffy rescinded, which probably means bugger all."

"Ok, but what about Spike?" Angel asked.

"What about him? There's nothing written about bloody book he stole because no one could read it without the bloody decoder ring." Giles said hotly. He threw the text he had been reading aside.

"Giles. Calm down. I'll see what I can find out about the Order of Taraka and who sent them. You just keep reading your books. See if you can find out what Spike is up to. And drink some coffee. When Buffy comes back, she'd like to see you sober." Angel advised.

* * *

><p>Kendra the Vampire Slayer watched from the bushes. She could sense the creature walking down the street was vampire. His black trench-coat as black as the demon that animated him. As soon as he was clear of the streetlights, she attacked. The vampire was tough, but not tough enough. And he was soon dust. Kendra dusted herself off and moved on to find the next one.<p>

* * *

><p>Xander parked them over a flat clearing somewhere in the Andes Mountains.<p>

"Xander, what are we doing here?" Buffy asked.

"Training." Xander stated. "Like I said, no one's going into battle again untrained. This place is uninhabited and far away from where any assassins are looking for you. A perfect place for you guys to try the new weapons we got."

"Nah-uh. You know I don't like guns Xander." Buffy complained.

Willow shook her head. "I don't like guns either, Xander."

Xander addressed Buffy first, "It doesn't matter if you don't like guns. It might be an issue against vampires, but the Order of Taraka obviously has no trouble with guns. Tell me. When Darla tried to shoot you, how did you defeat her?"

Buffy looked a little abashed, "I didn't. Angel did."

"That's right. He got a little shot up doing so, didn't he?" Xander prodded.

"But he was ok." Buffy countered.

"And would you have been ok, if you got shot that many times?" Xander argued. "Because that's what happens when you bring a stake to a gun fight. You get shot. You, your friends, and probably some innocent bystanders." He handed her an unloaded weapon. "Remember, we didn't escalate this. They did."

Buffy took her P90 grudgingly. Ford took his with a nod and Willow just kind of let hers fall into her lap. The first thing he had them do was unload and reload an empty clip 100 times. Xander did it right along with them as his body didn't have the muscle memory yet, even if his mind did. He ended up finishing just before Buffy, who seemed to catch on much quicker than the other two. He had to encourage Willow with a "This might save your life one day." Which didn't seem to work. "Or maybe mine." did seem to give her a drive to learn.

He and Buffy switched to practicing with their opposite hands while the others caught up. While they worked he explained the basics of gun safety and also how their weapons operated. Once everyone was done, he set out some empty water bottles weighted with sand.

Once they actually started shooting, Buffy took to it like a duck to water. "This isn't so bad. It's kinda like a loud crossbow you can reload super fast." she decided as her bullets tore her water bottle to pieces.

Xander found it a lot more difficult than he thought it should be to hold the gun steady. But did manage to make a decent, if not Buffy sized dent in his bottle.

Ford also was a decent shot at close range, as long as he took his time. Full auto, he was all over the place, but he wasn't unskilled and he too was getting better.

Xander couldn't say the same thing for Willow. She never came near the target. "I can't do this Xander." she pouted.

Xander took the empty weapon from her and gave her a kiss to stop the tears that were forming. "It's ok Will. Just so long as you know how." He put the empty gun away. "But unless you learn how to shoot something you're going to have to stay on the ship." Xander opened another box that was already on the ship. In it were ten zat'nik'tels. "Ok, these are zat'nik'tels. Also known as zats or zat guns by the SGC. Unlike the guns you just used they are an energy weapon. They shoot charged particles to disrupt the nervous system of your target. A good way to think about them is like a Taser on steroids. One shot will disable. Two or more in quick succession can kill." Xander demonstrated by shooting Willow's untouched bottle four times.

"Not much damage to non-living things. So don't worry about disintegrating something. They're not magic. And I'm really not sure what they might do to vampires. But everyone grab one and give it a shot." Xander practiced with everyone else.

Buffy again led the class despite Xander's memory experience with shooting the weapons. He, Ford and Willow were all more or less equal. Willow seemed much more confident with this weapon and was soon hitting her bottle with regularity.

Xander called a halt and moved the targets back. He handed out P90s to Ford and Buffy but let Willow continue to practice with her Zat. After the P90 practice, he handed out zats again. Willow, who had been practicing the longer range while everyone else worked the P90s was the clear leader this time, though Buffy was mostly caught up to her by the time Xander called it quits. They packed up their stuff and moved everything back into the ship for the night.

* * *

><p>Kendra stalked her next target. He had entered a bar. A place Kendra wasn't allowed to follow. She hesitated only a moment before deciding that Slaying overrode that rule. Mr Zabuto didn't have to know about this. She found the vampire attacking and threatening a human. It was a bit odd, usually they just attacked, but these American vampires were a strange breed. She had lost her stake when the last vampire dusted so she picked up the broom off the floor. Breaking it into a stake would alert the vampire to her presence, so she attacked and knocked him to the floor before breaking off a stake from the broom handle.<p>

He kicked her off and stood up to meet her next attack.

* * *

><p>When she attacked next, Angel was ready for her. Easily parrying her clumsy thrust and throwing her to the back of the bar. He dove for the rest of the broom laying on the floor. Spinning off the broom head as he stood up, he found himself with a serviceable wooden sword. No edge, but it did come to some pretty sharp points. He saluted his opponent before continuing the fight. It was very similar and very different to his bouts with Xander. Similar in the feeling and the moves they were using, different in that this was likely to the death. The girl was not as skilled as Xander, but she was both faster and stronger than him. If anything it felt like fighting Jolinar. The moves were blocky and stiff, but so quick that it hardly mattered. So far, the extra reach that getting the longer end of the stick rendered him was keeping her at bay.<p>

"Who are you? Why is the Order of Taraka here?" he asked.

"What would I know about dee Order of Taraka?" she stopped attacking.

"If you're not with them, then why are you attacking me?" Angel wondered.

"You are a vam-pyre. I am Ken-dra dee Vam-pyre Slayer." she answered.

"Sure you are." Angel dismissed the idea. Though his heart just dropped to his feet. "I just saw the Slayer yesterday."

"Yesterday? Dat is im-poss-ible. I was called months ago." Kendra dismissed their claims.

"Willie, when was the last time you saw the Slayer?" Angel asked the barman, very relieved that she hadn't been called that day.

"Two or three days ago. Tops." The nervous man answered from behind the bar where he'd been hiding.

"There. Now drop the act and tell us who you really are." Angel ordered.

"I _am_ dee Vam-pyre Slayer." Kendra insisted.

"Tell you what, I'm going to call Buffy's watcher and let him deal with this." Angel pulled out his radio. "Giles, this is Angel, come in."

After a few seconds, Giles answered, "Yes Angel. Did you find something?"

"If by something, you mean another Slayer, then yes." Angel replied.

"Another Slayer, then do you mean... Buffy?" Giles stammered, suddenly feeling very sober.

"She says she was called months ago. So no." Angel repeated. "Here, you talk to her. Tell her your secret code phrases or whatever so she stops trying to kill me." Angel set the radio on the bar and stepped back.

"Hello?" Kendra talked into the radio.

"Hello, this is Rupert Giles of the Watcher council. To whom am I speaking?" Giles replied.

Slowly Kendra and Giles worked out that she really was a Vampire Slayer and he really was a Watcher and that there were now two Slayers. Giles tracked back the date she was called to the night the Master rose and made the connection to Buffy's death. Eventually the conversation came back to the vampire she had just been fighting.

"Yes, his name is Angel and he's on our side." Giles assured her.

"Angel? You mean Angelus? I've read about him. He is a monster." She looked right at him.

"No, no, no, he's, he's good now." Giles reassured her.

"I haven't fed on humans in a long time now." Angel claimed.

Giles, over the radio, didn't hear those claims. "He hasn't fed on humans for almost 100 years. There's a book here at the library. I can show you, if you like."

She agreed and left for the library. Taking Angel's radio with her so Giles could give her directions. Angel stayed behind to continue his interrogation of Willie.

* * *

><p>"So, Willie. Where were we?" Angel said before he was beaned from behind by a beer keg.<p>

Angel dropped to the floor as Spike stepped to the fore. "Stupid Ponce." he spat.

"Spike, buddy. Was beginning to wonder if you got my message." Willie said nervously. Spike didn't answer and just peeled off a few bills and threw them at the barman before directing his minions to drag Angel out of there. "Wait!" Willie called after he had picked up the money. "Give me the rest of those bills and I have some information you're really going to want to know."

Spike considered it for a minute. He turned and walked Willie into the bar where he loomed over Willie without actually touching the man. He took out the rest of the bills and slammed them on the bar. "Fine. But it had better be worth it or I'll drain you and take my money back." he warned.

_Another Slayer? Already? Perhaps the Order of Taraka had been a bad idea after all. _ Spike decided.


	22. Chapter 26

Chapter 26.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Just a reminder: in my world, the laws of conservation of energy apply. So the Zats work like Tasers on steroids. One shot disables, two may kill, three or more will almost certainly kill, but additional shocks after death can sometimes revive dead people (like shock paddles). Three never, ever disintegrates.<p>

* * *

><p>Xander spent the flight back teaching Willow how to fly the ship. They took their time so any mistakes wouldn't be deadly for all on board. Willow took to it quite quickly and they were soon doing simple maneuvers and increasing the speed for her.<p>

Ford tried it next. He wasn't bad, but he tended to lean into the turns too much, causing them to turn to far. Then his corrections turned them too far the other way. It reminded Xander of one of those topwater lures on the Sunday morning fishing shows, going back and forth. But, once Xander got him pointed in the right direction, he was able to maintain a straight line.

Which was more than he could say for Buffy. Going too fast, turning too hard; she almost crashed them into a mountain before Jolinar took the controls.

"I saw the mountain. I was going to turn." Buffy pouted. Then she rubbed her ear. "It's your fault the hearing protectors didn't work. My ears are still ringing. It was distracting."

#"Never again are you to drive this ship."# Jolinar ordered. That had really been too close. On the plus side, the extra speed she had pushed for put them back in the States sooner than he'd thought. He let Willow fly them home. #"And the hearing protectors worked for everyone else just fine. We will find something else for you."#

Xander broke out the zats again. Everyone got a zat, but he left the P90s in their box for now. Then he went to help Willow park. Once they were parked above the school, he had them all move to the cargo room and used the ring device to ring them down by the back door of the library.

Xander and Willow walked down one set of stairs from the stacks as Buffy and Ford walked down the other. Before he could take a step down, a mocha colored girl attacked him. He blocked the shot to his face but couldn't block the shot to his gut. _Oww. This girl was faster and stronger than Angel._ He let Jolinar take over.

Jolinar's eyes glowed bright and he threw back a counter attack. It was easily blocked. The blocks were sloppy and sweeping and would have taken too long if she were human, but she wasn't. So a change of tactics was in order. He allowed himself to fall backwards with the next punch to his shoulder. He drew his legs to his chest and when she tried to stab him with what looked like a broom handle, he kicked her off him and down the stairs. Three zat blasts met her as she stood up. She collapsed bonelessly back to the floor.

"Ok, what the hell?" Xander pushed his way into control again. "What kind of demon was she Giles?"

"She's not a demon, she's another Slayer." He said calmly. "I trust those are the non-lethal weapons you mentioned?"

"Except when you get shot three times like that!" Xander jumped down the stairs and ran to the new Slayer's side. He checked. "No pulse, no breathing. Giles, call 911!"

"But..."

"Now!" Xander ordered. "Willow, do the breathing." Willow knelt by his side, lifted the girl's chin and started to give rescue breaths while Xander did the chest compressions. "One, and two, and three,..." he counted out.

When he'd gotten to 10 three times, he asked Giles, "ETA on that ambulance, Giles?"

"Four minutes" Giles called back.

"Too long." Xander murmured. Then to Buffy. "Buff, get your zat ready. When I yell clear, Willow and I will jump back, then you shoot her again."

"Shoot her again?" Buffy cried in dismay. Her eyes were wide and unseeing.

"A zat blast is mostly electrical energy. Like a Taser or shock paddles. We're going to shock her again to try restarting her heart. Ok?" Xander explained.

Buffy just shook her head and cried. It was just like the Master's cave. The flashbacks were overwhelming.

"I'll do it." Ford stepped forward and readied his zat.

Xander exchanged a nod with the other man and jumped back, pulling Willow with him. "Clear!"

The Slayer's body shook and convulsed with the shot. … And drew in a rattling breath. Then she coughed, and coughed some more.

Xander took a big step back in case she attacked him again.

"What happened?" she said weakly.

"Yes, it does appear that we've been able to revive her. Perhaps the paramedics could continue on their way just to check her out though? Wonderful. Thank you." Giles hung up.

"You attacked one of our friends." Ford accused.

"I attacked a demon." Kendra said as she sat up.

Ford jumped to Xander's defense, "He's not a demon, he-"

Willow also defended him, "He's not-" though she petered out when she realized Ford was also talking.

"Guys!" Xander interrupted before they could break his cover. Everyone was far too willing to tell his life story to people. "Yeah, I'm a demon. But I'm a demon with friends. One of whom happens to be the Slayer."

"Children, may I introduce Kendra, The Vampire Slayer." Giles intruded.

"Another vampire slayer?" Willow gasped.

This seemed to bring Buffy out of her funk, though her eyes were still red. "But I'm the Slayer!"

"Yes, she and I already discussed this. She was called just after your fight with the Master." Giles stated gently. "One slayer dies and the next one is called."

"I was only gone for a minute." Buffy whined.

"And now so was Kendra." Giles stated. That seemed to make Buffy happier.

"You mean...?" Kendra started.

"That another Slayer has likely been called. You may want to call your watcher and let him know you're alright." Giles offered.

The paramedics burst through the door and made their way straight to Kendra. She protested weakly, but the shock of having died was clearly having an effect. Though when they suggested that she come to the hospital, she came back to herself and quickly declined.

"Well, thanks for coming, but if you just want to head out those doors to whichever way leads home... that'd be great." Buffy asked Kendra to leave.

Giles started polishing his glasses as he already knew Kendra's answer. "I cannot just leave. I was sent here for a rea-son. Mr. Zabuto said all dee signs indicate dat a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale."

Buffy stood up, "And what's your great plan for finding this dark power? You just gonna attack people randomly till you find a bad one?"

Kendra almost smiled. "Of course not."

"Then why did you attack Xander?" Buffy asked

Kendra looked at Xander, "He is a demon. You said so yourselves."

"But he's a good demon." Willow hugged Xander tightly. "We should probably warn her about Angel too."

"If you mean Angelus, we've al-ready met." Kendra stated. "He was interro-gating a man at Wil-lie's Bar."

"We should radio him and see if he's ok," Buffy pulled her radio.

"Except that Angel gave Kendra his radio so she could find her way here." Giles interrupted.

"How long ago?" Jolinar asked.

"Several hours." Giles looked at the clock. Then at the window where sunlight was already starting to shine in.

* * *

><p>It was an uncomfortable walk to Willie's. Nobody in Buffy's group wanted to say much for fear of giving something away and Kendra just didn't say much, period.<p>

After an unproductive interrogation, all Willie was going to confirm was that Spike probably sent the assassins, which surprised no one. And he swore that Angel left his bar not long after Kendra left. Kendra insisted on returning to their watcher, but Buffy was having none of it. So they let Kendra head back to Giles while they paid their captured assassin a visit.

The smell when they opened the door to Ford's old hide out told them that they hadn't left the assassin with a way to relieve herself.

Jolinar stopped everyone else from entering though. "Something smells wrong. Let us check it out first. Stay here so we can get out again."

They made their way down the stairs to the figure still wrapped in the rug. The body inside made no move as they gently unrolled her. Lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling once she was unrolled. A small amount of foam on her lips intrigued them. Bending down to take a sniff (sticking your finger in an unknown substance was a stupid idea), they smelled bitter almonds. Wrapping her back up so the girls wouldn't have to see, they headed back upstairs.

"She's dead. Cyanide pill." Jolinar explained. "We should come back tonight and burn the body."

Willow looked horrified at the news and grabbed Xander for comfort. Xander wasn't about to argue with hugging Willow. Buffy swallowed nervously but put on a brave face. Ford alone looked calm. Xander wondered if it was because he had faced his own death, but dismissed the idea. Buffy had faced her own death too, after all. And she had been a wreck when Kendra died.

* * *

><p>Back at the library, things weren't going any better.<p>

"I've, I-I've discovered the remaining keys to Drusilla's cure. The, uh, the ritual requires that, the presence of her sire, and it must take place in a church on the night of the new moon." Giles explained.

"See, I thought vampires avoided churches." Xander joked.

"The new moon. But dat is tonight." Kendra exclaimed.

Giles nodded, "Exactly. And I-I'm sure the assassins were here to kill Buffy before she could put a stop to things."

"They need Drusilla's sire. You mean the vamp that made her?" Buffy paused. "Angel. He's Drusilla's sire."

"That man sure gets around." Xander joked.

Buffy started giving orders, "We need to find this church. We need to find where this ritual is gonna take place!"

"Agreed, and we must work quickly. We have only five hours before sundown." Giles stated.

Willow flipped her computer open, "Don't worry, Buffy, we'll save Angel."

Kendra was taken aback, "Angel? But our priority is to stop Drusilla!"

Xander. "Angel's our friend! Except that I don't like him."

"Ally might be the better term," Jolinar added.

Ford sat off to one side studying the ring of the dead assassin. "Do we think they sent more than one assassin?" he asked.

"It is common for them to send more than one, yes." Giles answered.

"Xander, how good are those scanners of yours?" he said holding up the ring.

Xander stood and examined the ring.

/What do you think?/ Xander asked his symbiote.

%It might work, if they were all cast from the same source.% Jolinar offered. %But the sensors can't simply search for a particular shape like that. Not in a city.%

/What about in a church?/ Xander wondered.

%Yes, it could probably search for that shape and similar composition then.% Jolinar answered.

"Ok. We'll give the scanners a try. Probably won't work. But once we're done with the city-wide scan, we'll scan each church." Xander announced.

"All 43 of them?" Willow asked.

Xander shrugged, "We've got 5 hours. That gives us..."

"Almost 7 minutes apiece." Willow set her computer aside. "I'll come with you."

Buffy and Kendra came out of Giles' office. "We're going to go pay Willie another visit."

"Keep your radios on." Xander called as he and Willow left out the back of the library.

* * *

><p>The city wide scan pulled up bupkiss. As was expected.<p>

"Can't you search for something similar instead of an exact copy?" Willow wondered.

"What did you have in mind?" Jolinar asked.

"Well, you're searching for the exact components of the ring, right?" Willow clarified. "Well, what if we expanded that by plus or minus 5 percent?"

"There would be too many results." Jolinar shook his head.

"All of a similar weight and shape?" Willow asked.

Jolinar was dumbfounded. Xander had to speak up. He kissed her first, "Willow, has anyone ever told you you're a genius?"

"Once or twice. Did you hear that Microhard was trying to recruit me?" she smiled and started modifying the search parameters.

The new search turned up five results. They called Buffy and Kendra and told them to forget Willie. Then they started sorting through the results. They checked out the one by Buffy's house first. A detailed scan revealed a Tarakan ring and a man. But the sensors showed that he wasn't really a man. Instead of cells, the man was made of bugs. Willow shivered at that.

The next scan they did was the only one in a church. That too was an assassin's ring. The man was at least human. They were about to move on, when a shape appeared and disappeared on the scan.

"What was that?" Willow wondered.

"It could be a vampire." Jolinar guessed. "The sensors are trained to ignore room temperature objects. It has to or all you'd see would be the air itself. But it picks up anything moving. So, if the vampire were holding still, it's invisible to the sensors. We could only see it if it moves."

Xander sighed. Alien tech wasn't perfect. "Let's go check out the rest of the hits."

The other three turned out to be a class ring, a locket, and a picture frame. No assassins were found nearby so they flew back to the high school to tell everyone the news.

* * *

><p>"By my house?" Buffy yelled.<p>

"Sheesh." Xander rubbed the ear Buffy had just yelled in. "Relax, Buffy. Your mom is on that art buying trip, remember? No one's been by your house all day. On the downside, I think your next door neighbor is dead."

Buffy felt a little guilty getting worked up over her mom, who wasn't in danger vs her neighbor, who was dead.

"And it looks like we found the church. There's an assassin and at least one vamp already there."

"You cannot tell how many?" Kendra asked.

"Vamps are funny on the sensors. Can only see them if they're moving" Xander explained. "Anyway, I figure, we've still got a few hours until sundown. We can squash the assassin staking out your house."

"Why don't we hit the church first? Get Angel sooner than later? As long as my mom's safe." Buffy asked.

"Because, the ritual must take place at night," Giles caught Xander's reasoning. "There's no guarantee that Spike, Drusilla, or Angel will be there. And if one of our enemies is alone, then it would be a good time to hit him in force."

"Thank you Mr. Giles." Jolinar nodded. "Now the scans revealed that the assassin is not human. In fact, he's made of thousands of little worm-like bugs. Normal means of Slaying are not going to work on this... person. As long as the bugs are touching, zats should stun all of them together. Multiple blasts _should kill_," he looked at Kendra, "but not for sure. I would suggest burning them. There's too many for almost any other form of death to be effective."

"So, zat em, douse em with gas, and burn them. Got it." Buffy summarized.

"The problem is that it's your neighbor's house. You can't be there Buff." Xander apologized.

"What do you mean I can't be there?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Remember Hemery?" Ford chipped in.

"Oh, yeah." Buffy admitted.

"We need you far across town with an iron clad alibi." Xander stated. "You and Kendra can go to the mall and shop. Buy lots of little things and keep the receipts."

"I should go with you." Kendra complained.

"No." Xander said firmly. "You should go with Buffy." There was no way he was letting her see alien tech in action. He was just glad she hadn't asked what zats were.

* * *

><p>The op went beautifully. Ford walked in the back door with a can of gas. When the bug man went to investigate, Xander walked in the front door with his zat ready. He fired once as the thing was turning and the bug man collapsed into a pile of bugs. He fired two more times and most of them stopped squirming. Ford poured gas on and around the bugs and then threw a match on the pile. Then they both walked out the back door and met Willow on Buffy's porch. Giles joined them as soon as the smoke started to show.<p>

"We should probably alert the fire brigade." Giles reasoned.

Xander nodded. "They should be dead by the time they get here."

* * *

><p>Buffy and Kendra bonded a bit over shopping. They bonded more when they dusted a vamp that introduced itself as Lyle Gorch.<p>

Bonding over Slaying. Would wonders never cease?

* * *

><p>Finally it was night time and the Scoobies were heading for the church. After a brief interview with the fire department, they had had a long discussion amongst themselves as to what they wanted to do with Kendra. Xander wanted to go in with the four of them. Him and Ford with P90s and Willow and Giles with zats. But they couldn't keep Buffy out of this since Angel was involved. And if they allowed Buffy to come, they'd have to allow Kendra. Either that or zat her again. And if Kendra was coming, that meant no zats. Since they weren't going to trust her with that secret yet. Ford understood now why they had been slow to trust him. There were a lot of secrets to keep in this group.<p>

Since Buffy and Kendra were both coming, they decided on a different approach. Xander would have a P90 behind Kendra and take the right side of the church. Ford would have a P90 behind Buffy and would take the left side of the church. Giles and Willow would guard their backs with crossbows and spears, and a concealed zat each.

They entered the church.

In the hall, they ran into the third assassin and two vamps. Kendra ducked as she was told to do and Xander mowed down the assassin. _ Guess he was only human._ Then he shot a couple bursts into the chest and head of the vamp advancing on them. The body shots had little effect, but the head shots seemed to daze the vamp. Xander touched Kendra on the shoulder to give her the go. Both slayers were wearing both in-the-ear and over-the-ear hearing protection to protect their Slayer hearing. Xander had overruled Buffy's complaints that they weren't fashionable or that they messed up her hair.

As Kendra dusted her vamp, Xander chanced a glance at Ford. Ford had apparently taken a different tact. If the tatters that were once the vampire's pants were any indication. Xander also noted that Ford had to stop firing early when Buffy started forward while he was still shooting. There was going to be a lecture about that later if she survived. Buffy also dusted her vamp easily.

Two more vamps were similarly dusted when they came to check on the problem. Xander caught Ford reloading, he still had 15 or so rounds left, but figured it was a good time to reload too. After Ford was ready he reloaded his own gun.

The door to the nave of the church was unlocked. Part of Xander was disappointed he wouldn't get to use any of the C4 he brought. Counting down from three, he and Ford led the way in, followed by their Slayers. There were two more minions here. Taken care of in what was becoming a very familiar pattern.

"Oi! You wankers! That's cheating!" Spike yelled as he ran to the altar to put Angel between himself and the guns.

"This is all your fault, Spike. If you hadn't gone and hired gun-toting assassins, we never would have had to escalate it like this." Xander lied. He'd been planning on escalating this war since Halloween. He would have had more weapons and trained fighters before he would have started using them, though. "Now, be a good demon and stop hiding behind Angel." He and Kenra took the aisle to the right of the pews. Ford and Buffy took the left aisle. Giles and Willow stayed near the door, but controlled the middle aisle with crossbows (and hidden zats).

"One more step and the ponce goes poof." Spike drew a stake from his coat and put it to Angel's back.

"See, you're assuming I like Angel. He's fun enough to use as a punching bag, but I still don't like him much." Xander put a round through Angel's side to make a point. It easily passed through Angel and hit Spike too.

"Gah." the blonde vampire yelled and grabbed his side, but kept the stake where it was.

"Xander!" Buffy yelled and threw him a dirty look. Though Kendra smiled.

Xander adjusted his aim. "Fine. I've got 50 rounds here. More than enough to decapitate Drusilla from this range. So drop the stake or the bitch gets it." he was overstating his remaining ammo a bit, but between him and Ford it would probably be enough.

If it was possible, Spike certainly turned a whiter shade of pale. He didn't take the stake away, but he did pull out the knife that was connecting the two. "Sorry, baby. Gotta go. Hope that was enough." He cut her down. With a last look at Xander, he ran for the back door, picking Dru up as he went.

Xander and Ford both fired a burst at him as he ran away. Xander fired at head height while Ford fired at Spike's legs. Xander saw at least one shot of his hit and brain matter on the opposite wall confirmed it, but Ford was the one to take him down. A shot hit his knees and Spike went sprawling as he dropped Dru. Drusilla moaned as the drop woke her up. Xander tapped Kendra's shoulder to send her after the vamps while he covered her from the aisle. Buffy too rushed forward but stopped when she reached Angel. She cut him down and gently laid him on the floor while Kendra dusted Spike.

Drusilla watched as the last of her 'family' turned to ashes before her. "Spike?" she mewed. Then she turned to Kendra and vamped out. "You killed my Spike." she whispered dangerously before she attacked. She was strong, fast, and utterly determined to avenge her childe's death. Kendra was getting pushed back down the aisle, straight into Xander. Who had no shot with her in the way. Ford was having trouble reloading his weapon under pressure. Kendra reached where Xander was standing. Xander tapped her on the shoulder and she dropped to the floor. As soon and her head cleared the field, he was firing, point blank, into Drusilla's skull. Around 15 rounds of armor-piercing ammo ripped through her brain and she dropped backwards on her heals. Unseeing eyes stared into space as her body twitched and jumped.

Xander didn't want to find out how long it would take her to heal or revive or whatever. He tapped Kendra and she finished the vampiress off. Xander reloaded just in case. An angry Drusilla had scared the shit out of him.

Ford trotted over. "Sorry. I couldn't get it reloaded in time." he confessed.

"Practice." Xander ordered. "Until you're doing it in your dreams." but laid a comforting hand around the other boy's shoulders. "You did good though." Then they went to see how Angel was doing.

Buffy was still holding him. He was unconscious and not breathing. Though it wasn't a problem for a vampire.

"We should go. Gunfire tends to attract the cops." Xander suggested.

Buffy looked at him with furry in her eyes. "You shot him!"

"Just a little." Xander shrugged. _What was the big deal. He was a vampire. It wasn't going to kill him._

Buffy seemed to disagree. She slugged him in the arm, hard.

Xander felt his arm snap.

Jolinar confirmed it. %It's broken.%

Xander scowled and handed his gun to Willow, who took it grudgingly. Then he punched Buffy right in the nose. "You broke my arm!" he yelled.

Kendra kept Buffy at bay while the three humans kept Xander from the brawl. Even with a broken arm, it wasn't easy.

"You shot Angel!" Buffy screamed back.

"I saved his life!" Xander shot back and then stopped struggling.

#"Thank you for your help. We are now under control."# Jolinar took possession of their body.

%And we're going to stay under control. Understood?% Jolinar told his host.

/She started it! She broke my arm./ Xander argued.

%You are a Tok'ra now and you will hold yourself to a higher standard. We have no time for this childish bickering. We must go now or end up in jail.%

/We have immunity./ Xander sulked.

%But not the documentation to back it up. And only we have immunity so far. Not your friends and not Willow.% Jolinar reasoned.

The thought of Willow did seem to calm Xander down. And Angel coming to and moaning seemed to calm Buffy.

The group made it to the car, but there were too many people to fit in comfortably. Kendra volunteered to walk Ford to the library while Giles drove the injured home. Instead of home, they all went to Willow's. Xander got out with Willow but stopped Angel from getting out.

"It was designed to work on humans. The results could be unpredictable. It could create living tissue inside your dead tissue. It could dust you instantly. It could do nothing or it could just be painful. It could give you an eternal pain that never goes away. Quite simply, we should test it on a vampire we plan to dust first." Jolinar reasoned.

It was hard to argue with possibilities like that. They decided to stop by the butcher shop and get some pigs blood and let his vampire healing take its course.

Willow helped Xander inside. "Xander, could all that stuff you just said happen?" she asked.

"All of it could. Only a couple are likely." Xander said as he laid his arm gently on the chair. Jolinar had taken care of most of the pain, but every time it was bumped it still hurt like hell.

He used his other arm to position the device. /Mind if I take this one?/ Xander asked.

%Be my guest.% Jolinar offered.

Xander concentrated hard. It was much easier once Jolinar made the pain disappear again. Soon he felt the tingle in his hand and the warmth in his arm that meant it was working. He concentrated on what he wanted. There was more to a broken arm than just the bone breaking. There were usually tiny chips of bone that broke off during the break. He had to dissolve those for calcium to work with to mend the rest of the bone. There were also muscle tears where the sharp bone sliced through muscle like a hot knife. Also nerves had been damaged by the break. Those were the hardest to heal. But he could tell when he was successful as healed nerves tended to tingle like when your foot falls asleep.

Jolinar took control and checked his work. He found one nerve that Xander had missed and fixed that. Xander was getting pretty good at this.

Then it was time for bed. Xander decided to sleep here for the night.

* * *

><p>Mayor Wilkins knelt in a pentagram with his hands to his sides. Five candles burned on each point of the pentagram. "Potestatem matris nostrae in tenebris invoco. Maledictum filium tuum abomni periculo custodias nunc et in saecula!"<p>

The building began to shake. The Mayor remained still but Mr. Finch looked like he was about to faint.

"Well, that's that." the Mayor stood up and crossed 'Become Invincible' off his to do list. "Darn. I forgot to pick up my dry cleaning. Could you get that for me in the morning Allen?"

"Umm. Yes sir. But are we sure it worked?" Finch asked.

"Only one way to find out." Wilkens walked to his desk and pulled out a snub-nosed revolver. He walked to the terrified Mr Finch and handed him the gun. The Mayor walked five paces away. Took off his jacket and undid his shirt, holding it open. "Try not to hit the shirt." he instructed.

Allen aimed, closed his eyes, and fired. He opened his eyes. A black hole appeared where the Mayor's heart should have been. A fitting metaphor. As he watched, the hole filled it self in and disappeared.

The Mayor smiled and buttoned up his shirt. "Well it went through, but that's not your fault Allen. That was a good shot. Straight through the heart." he beamed at his deputy.

Allen nervously placed the gun on the desk. He really wanted to wipe his prints off it but was scared how the mayor might react. "Will that be all sir?"

The Mayor sighed. Today was a great day. Allen should really be happier about this. He was. "Yes Allen. Thank you."

* * *

><p>Ford and Kendra walked toward the high school. Ford took a deep breath and sighed. It had been a crazy night. They had taken his P90 in the car, but he had a concealed zat and a Slayer for protection.<p>

They walked in silence for a while. Kendra was strangely quiet and even demure. She had seemed so confident during the fight. "So," he tried to start a conversation. "Great fighting there tonight."

"Tank you very- I mean- I am very- to be tanking you." Kendra stuttered.

Ford smiled. Even Willow wasn't this nervous. And Kendra had just slayed some very tough vampires. "Hey. You just Slayed that dark power you were sent here to stop. You should be happier."

They both paused as a small earthquake hit Sunnydale. Barely even registered. But it was an ominous sign in Sunnydale. They continued on after a short pause.

"I am- being happy." Kendra cringed at her inability to form words in front of this boy.

"They said that Spike had killed two Slayers already and that Drusilla was just as dangerous." Ford informed her. "You should be proud of yourself."

Finally, something that Kendra disagreed with. It made it easier to speak. "I am not. I did not slay him by meself like I was trained." she shook her head. "I do not tink I can live wit the shame of not doing my job."

"What are you talking about? I personally saw you slay two Master Vampires." Ford reminded her.

"But dee Slayer always works alone. It is dee rules." Kendra disagreed.

"They cheated first. They brought assassins into it." Ford reasoned. "Besides. The only rule I intend to live by right now is 'Don't Die'. Xander just gave me my life back and I want to live it to its fullest."

"Xander, dee demon?" Kendra asked.

Ford sighed. Back on the demon kick. "I'm pretty new, but from what I understand, he only recently became a demon. Or half-demon. Probably less. Something to do with a spell on Halloween that stuck around. He was fully human until a few months ago." Ford informed her. "He saved Buffy's life before that and he's saved both of our lives since then."

"After he shot me." Kendra argued.

"Technically, he was the only one who _didn't _shoot you. And you attacked him first." Ford stated. "He started CPR and got everyone organized to resuscitate you."

"I see." Kendra looked at the sidewalk again. With the new moon, even her Slayer senses had trouble seeing the ground when they were outside the cones of light from the street lamps.

* * *

><p>AN: New moon vs Full moon. Inconsistent in Canon. I picked New moon.

Translation: Our mother of darkness, I summon thee. Curse now your dangerous accursed son and protect him into the new age!

* * *

><p>Such a great analogy from CrystalBlaze about this chapter. I just had to share it:<p>

Xander is the Anti-Spike in this one.

Twice alive as opposed to undead.

Two souls as opposed to Spike's losing his when he was Turned.

And he's saved two Slayers after their hearts had stopped, as opposed to Spike's having killed two.


	23. Chapter 27

Chapter 27.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Xander would have liked to do a debriefing much earlier. In fact it felt weird to be doing one the next day. But the excitement of the battle and his own broken arm had chased the thought from his mind. And once his arm was healed, everyone was already home and getting ready for bed. So he had called everyone to meet in the library early the next morning for a Scooby meeting.<p>

The briefing went fairly smoothly at first. Xander complimented Ford and Kendra's abilities to work as part of a team on such short notice. Buffy was already sulking when he got to her, having guessed why she had been left out the compliments. Xander maintained a calm and even tone when he reprimanded her for attacking a vamp before Ford was done shooting and for going to Angel before the threats were eliminated. He was backed up by Giles and, surprisingly, Kendra on those marks.

"You could have been shot." Kendra reasoned. "Bullets work better on a Slayer dan on a Vampire."

"Then why were we even using them then?" Buffy argued. "Giles! Didn't you say something about using guns on vamps being stupid?"

Giles shrugged and scratched his temple. "Yes- Yes. I suppose I did. However, the guns Xander used or perhaps the way he used them... seemed to be... quite effective." Giles admitted as he polished his glasses.

"I did not like dee noise they made. But I cannot deny dat it was very easy slaying last night. Ford tells me dat William dee Bloo-dy had killed two Slayers." Kendra shook her head. " I am glad I was not one of dem. Me watcher will be very proud dat I killed such a monster." She had decided to leave the guns out of the report to her watcher.

Another argument about whether or not Xander should have shot Angel finished off the briefing. Overall, nothing was really solved or decided. But he and Buffy had at least aired their grievances. Hopefully they could both move on now. He hoped.

He had liked working with the new Slayer, but was glad that she'd be leaving the next day. Trying to keep secrets from someone you worked with like that was hard. He was pretty sure Kendra had picked up more than she let on. But she wasn't saying anything. At least _one_ person in this group was good at keeping secrets.

* * *

><p>After the excitement of the week it had been almost a relief to get the call from the SGC saying they needed Xander's ship. Willow had wanted to come and Xander had wanted to bring her, but Jolinar had pointed out that this was an SGC mission and probably dangerous. Plus it would be best not to take Willow on his first mission with SG-1. Make sure he got along with everyone first before springing someone else on them.<p>

It was also an excuse to tell her to train. Willow was a geek and proud of that fact, but it meant that her physical conditioning left a lot to be desired. Xander put his foot down and said that she would have to meet certain physical tests before she could go on an off world mission. But he couldn't take the look she gave him and set the bar much lower than he really should have, no matter the disservice he was doing to her by doing that. He consoled himself with the thought that she wouldn't be leaving the ship under normal circumstances.

But for now he was the one at the controls. Or the auto pilot was at the controls as they were still in hyperspace. He and SG-1 were in the cargo hold going over their equipment in preparation of the upcoming mission. He was cleaning P90s. He had cleaned his own after the training and the church, but no one else had cleaned theirs. He made a mental note to not allow that again.

"P90s?" Jack looked at the disassembled guns.

Xander nodded and handed the one he'd already cleaned over. "Fifty rounds of armor piercing 5.7×28mm ammo. Should tear through Jaffa armor like a hot knife through butter. Higher velocity round means they have a better range than the MP5 too. These are going to be good for demon hunting, but we're going to have to go with something else for vampires. They shrugged off body shots like they were mosquito bites. Headshots were good at slowing them and possibly confusing them; and leg or knee shots dropped them so we could stake them easier. But they were too loud and you can't go for fancy shots like that at any distance. Plus Buffy had to wear inner and outer ear protection." Xander very carefully didn't mention the other Slayer(s). "Staff weapons seemed to work well against them. So I'm thinking about modifying some of them into a more compact form for slaying. Might be just the thing for vamps."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to use staff weapons, whatever their size, in a civilian area?" Daniel asked.

"In a civilian area infested with Vampires? Yes." Xander answered, putting a second P90 together, handing it to Carter, and starting on the third. "If you guys want to use them on the mission, be my guest."

The major looked at her CO. She certainly wouldn't mind a little extra firepower as long as they had enough ammo. Colonel O'Neill disassembled the one he'd been given, reassembled it, and loaded it. He nodded to Carter. "It's not a bad idea, but we should take some MP5 clips in case SG-5 needs ammo."

Dr. Jackson ended up carrying a backpack of spare ammo, ration bars, water, and medical supplies.

Soon they were almost ready to exit hyperspace.

"Wow, that was quick." Sam commented. "The Tok'ra upgraded the hyperdrive?"

"If by Tok'ra, you mean me and Jolinar with the help of your memories, then yes." Xander answered. "It's not up to the speed that Apophis used when he attacked Earth, but I figure once Willow understands how this stuff works, she'll blow that record out of the water." At Sam's look he continued, "I may have your knowledge, but I'm well aware that I'm not as smart as either of you. Willow's at least as smart as you and coming at this from a fresh perspective. Jo and I expect great things from her."

"You're letting her work with alien technology?" Sam asked.

"Of course." Xander nodded. "She wasn't about to be left out."

"That's incredibly dangerous." Sam reprimanded.

"So's living on a hellmouth." Xander deadpanned. "If she blows us up, the explosion should at least take out the hellmouth too.

Jolinar interrupted, #"I'm going to take us out of hyperspace on the other side of the sun from the planet. It will mean another hour or so of sub-light travel, but it will mean that we can re-cloak safely with no risk of being spotted by any ships."# he informed them. #"If your MALP was correct and there are Jaffa guarding the gate, then it is best to assume that there is a ship in orbit until we can confirm there is not."#

"My question is how we're going to find them," Jack wondered. "It's a big planet."

#"But they don't have vehicles or other transports do they?"# Jolinar asked. Jack shook his head and Jolinar continued, #"then we radio them first. If they can respond, we should be able to pick up their signal and triangulate their position if they are in walking distance of the gate."#

"And if _that_ doesn't work?" Jack wondered.

"We ring down to the gate, take out the Jaffa, and ask _them_ what happened to SG-5." Xander smiled.

"Oh, I like him." Jack smiled at Sam.

* * *

><p>It turned out that SG-5 were in range of the gate. They had been on their way back when 20 or so Jaffa came through the gate. Half had gone off in search of something and the other half were securing the gate. 20:4 odds weren't something they wanted to play so they decided to just sit tight until the Jaffa left or reinforcements came.<p>

A quick scan of the area revealed that the other Jaffa had either traveled out of range already or they were in a place or ship cloaked from scanning.

"They can do that?" Carter asked.

"Of course, we're cloaked aren't we?" Xander responded. "There's probably something important they're cloaking. You guys get ready and I'll keep scanning until they reappear."

They dropped Daniel off with SG-5 with his spare ammo, food, and water. Then they dropped the rest of SG-1 off where they could offer enfilade fire on the Stargate and the path the missing Jaffa had taken without risking friendly fire.

The position wasn't perfect, it was too far away for one thing. The higher velocity of the P90 round meant it was technically in range, but Jack didn't like the distance when they were using weapons they hadn't previously sighted in or trained with much.

"Ok, they're on their way back." Xander radioed in. "About 12 klicks away. I'll radio again when they're close to visual range. Over."

"Roger that. O'Neill out."

About an hour later, Xander warned them that they were coming just a few minutes before Jack could see them. He counted them with his spotting scope. An even dozen coming combined with the eight guarding the gate made it 20. Four of these were carrying something heavy between them. It was braced on two poles and each Jaffa was carrying one end of one pole.

SG-5 opened fire on the caravan first. They were closer to the incoming Jaffa than to the gate. When the Jaffa by the gate tried to maneuver to support their comrades, Sam and Jack opened fire on their flanks. Taking out 4 of the 8 Jaffa and forcing the rest to take cover.

Teal'c had stated that the distance to the Stargate from the cover SG-1 had selected was outside a staff weapon's effective range and had already left the cover Jack and Sam were using and moved closer to the path. As the Jaffa on the path found cover and returned fire at SG-5, they found themselves flanked by staff fire.

The four original carriers had fallen and two of the eight other guards were either wounded or dead. At a signal, two of the remaining guards charged SG-5's position, while the other four grabbed the object and ran.

Jack and Sam were playing peek-a-boo with the Jaffa at the gate. The Jaffa had taken cover and were breaking it only to shoot quickly and duck back down. One had left a foot out and O'Neill had been happy to show him the error of his ways and finished him off when that caused him to break cover. It may be hard to hit them from this distance with P90s, but no staff blasts were even coming close to their position. On the other hand, the light bullet of the P90 was doing absolutely nothing to the cover the Jaffas had hidden behind.

He checked on SG-5's progress. As soon as they were done with their group, he expected them to flank the gate and wipe up the rest of these Jaffa. He saw four Jaffa sprinting down the path. With what must have been a very heavy object to bounce on those poles like that. "Carter. Front pair. I'll take the left, you take the right. Five. Four. Three." A silent 'two' and 'one' passed as they each lined up their shots on the advancing pair.

Nearly simultaneous bursts from their guns preceded the simultaneous falls of two Jaffa warriors. The poles they were carrying fell with them, however, the Jaffa behind them couldn't stop quickly enough. Nor could they arrest the momentum of the heavy object they carried. The result was a spectacular, if unplanned, double pole vault. The Jaffa flew through the air like... well like Jaffa. Kicking and screaming all the way. Jack and Sam were too far away to hear the landing, but the sudden silence and unnatural positioning of their bodies told them that they were probably dead.

SG-5 had apparently taken care of their Jaffa as gunfire erupted from the tree line on that side of the clearing. The last three Jaffa were quickly put down.

Xander watched the battle from above and appreciated the excellent tactics the SG teams used. They killed 20 Jaffa in only a few minutes and only suffered minor injuries. After the bodies were secured and O'Neill cleared him to land, he uncloaked and landed near the now smashed box the Jaffa had come for. He walked over to see what all the fuss was about. Healing devices. About 30 of them, now scattered about the grass of the clearing.

SG-5 came into the clearing. Dr. Jackson was helping a soldier, whose face was bandaged, along. O'Neill greeted the team and motioned to the injured man.

"Tree shrapnel. Staff blast hit the tree he was taking cover behind and blew it into his face." the SG-5 CO explained.

O'Neill picked up a healing device by his feet and threw it to Xander. "Think you can heal him?" he asked.

Jolinar took control and tried out the device, just in case it might work. It did not. "Sorry. No naquadah in my blood." he answered and threw the device to Sam. "Sam is the only one here who might be able to do it."

"Wait, who are you?" the SG-5 CO interrupted before Sam could say anything.

"Sorry." O'Neill jumped in. "Allow me to introduce Xander Harris and the Tok'ra Jolinar. They're the new Tok'ra ambassadors to Earth. And it's their ship that allowed us to rescue you. Xander, Jolinar; this is Colonel Eric Cuddy of SG-5."

"Hey." Xander waved.

#"Pleased to meet you."# Jolinar offered. He saw Colonel Cuddy's fingers tighten on his MP5. "Or, 'hey', if you prefer." Jolinar smiled.

Cuddy cocked his head a little at that.

"They're an interesting team." Jack offered. "Probably the only Tok'ra who can quote 'The Three Stooges'."

"Oh, my father might be able to quote a few lines too." Carter disagreed. "And he'll do that block the eye-poke thing you and Xander were doing on the way over here."

"Anyway, we should help this guy." Xander brought them back on track. "Did you want to give the healing device a try or did you want to send him back to the SGC?"

Sam looked at the device in her hand. "I can't. I don't know what I'm doing. I could do more harm than good."

"I doubt that." Jolinar offered. "But we can do some training later if you like. Teach you how to use it."

Carter nodded and tucked the device away. "I'd like that. But let's get the lieutenant back through the gate first." She and Daniel helped the man to the gate while one of SG-5 dialed home.

One of SG-5 took his injured comrade from the other two and walked through the gate once the IDC had been transmitted.

"General Hammond, this is SG-1. We were able to find and rescue SG-5 with only one injury. Sending him through now sir." Jack said as the pair walked through. "There were some Jaffa carrying a box of healing devices. We're going to track them back and see where they came from."

"Understood. Hammond out."

Jack turned to his archeologist. "So, Daniel. Any idea who these Jaffa belong to?"

"No one we know." Daniel replied. "Though the markings look like antlers. Perhaps a god of the hunt?"

"From upside down they look like a step-pyramid." Sam remarked.

"A step pyramid?" Daniel walked around the head of the Jaffa he was looking at. "Hmm... could be Imhotep. He was an Egyptian god said to build the first step pyramids. He was also the god of medicine, which would explain the healing devices."

"Well, lets collect those devices and go check out his secret base." O'Neill clapped his hands together.

* * *

><p>The ride was short. They took the two remaining members of SG-5 along since they didn't need someone to guard the gate as long as they had a ship. After an hour of searching, they finally found the hidden base. SG-5 was left to guard the ship while Xander and SG-1 searched the base.<p>

It turned out that base was the wrong word. Factory would have been more appropriate. Very small and slow factory, producing healing devices, even better. Jolinar could trace where the raw materials went in and how they flowed through the machine and produced a healing device. He showed Major Carter the workings. The naked eye couldn't actually follow the slow speed of production.

"Couldn't a Goa'uld just make one himself?" Sam asked.

"Sure." Xander answered. "But you need the right materials and it would take weeks. This automates it nicely. Even if it takes a long time to make each one, it doesn't take any of the Goa'uld's time. He just sends his Jaffa to refill the raw materials and pick up the finished product."

#"Too bad healing devices don't have any naquadah in them. There's really nothing useful here."# Jolinar commented.

"So this Goa'uld just builds healing devices and sells them to the other Goa'uld?" Jack wondered.

"Looks like." Daniel answered. "There's nothing offensive here and no weapons. Not to mention Imhotep was quite the benevolent god by Egyptian standards. So I would say that we leave the factory alone."

"Leave it?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"It's only healing devices. Healing devices heal people, Jack. They don't kill anything." Daniel defended.

"But the Goa'uld use them as proof of their god-hood." Teal'c interjected. "Surely anything that weakens their claim to god-hood is good."

"I'm going to go with Daniel on this." Xander said. "If he's friendly towards humans, that could piss him off. If he's not, they'd just rebuild the factory elsewhere anyway. Not worth the C4. Besides, you already got 15 healing devices out of this deal."

"I was sure it was closer to 30." Jack gave a surprised look.

"How many do you really need, Jack? The Tok'ra can actually use them. And they can't set up a factory like this. It takes too much time." Xander told him.

"So, it would do some damage?" Jack latched onto the idea.

#"It would inconvenience them at best."# Jolinar replied. #"Like we said, not worth the C4"#

"Alright. Fine. Everyone back to the ship." Jack ordered. "We can always blow it up later."

* * *

><p>SG-1 dropped off their P90s and re-slung their MP5s. "Carter, remind me to ask Hammond for some of those for our team." Jack ordered.<p>

"Yes sir." Sam responded automatically.

Then they separated the healing devices they captured into two piles. It turned out that there were 32 so they each got 16. The Tok'ra would be happy about that. They were always short of those.

He dropped the SG teams off at the gate and waited until they had gone through before dialing another planet. He took the healing devices through. He handed off the healing devices, making the excuse that he had left his ship undefended on a planet that had recently had hostile Jaffa, to avoid a debriefing with the Tok'ra. He would have to do that by communicator once he reached Earth, but they wouldn't expect that for weeks. He thought about the improvements to the hyperdrive he had made using Carter's memories. Once he explained the concepts to Willow, he fully expected further improvements. He may have Carter's memories, but she was still Willow.

With that thought, he stepped back through the gate and walked over to his ship. He lifted off and set the autopilot for Earth. It was a rather boring ride back without SG-1 present. He made a mental note to download his Napster playlist to the ship's mainframe. A couple thousand songs should help break the monotony. Besides, who designed ships without a radio or some form of music to keep people entertained.

* * *

><p>Xander took it back. The ride back in his ship alone wasn't boring. The debriefing managed to make a very exciting and life threatening experience like they just had and make it seem dull. They rehashed everything that had happened on the mission. It was a horribly unexciting play by play. He didn't think his own debriefing in the library had been this boring. At least he hoped not.<p>

Even worse, Hammond had asked about the assassins.

"We took care of them." Xander told him. "Only managed to shoot one of the three, but it did make that one easier to put down."

"Do you know who sent the assassins, or why they attacked you?" Hammond wondered.

"A vampire sent them. We got him too. And they didn't attack _me._" Xander said meaningfully to Daniel. Then looked at Jack and finally Teal'c.

Hammond noticed all the looks going around. "Does someone want to tell me what's going on?"

"It's my fault General. I asked them not to tell you." Xander started.

"No. I agreed and asked everyone to change their reports." Daniel countered.

"I gave the order, general." Jack retorted.

"I would not have divulged the information on Slayer Buffy even if I had not been given that order." Teal'c added.

"What's a Slayer Buffy?" the general asked. "And what is everyone talking about?"

"My friend. Buffy? Is what's called a Slayer." Xander started to explain.

"I can have a full report on your desk in 10 minutes." Daniel interjected.

"Basically, the Slayer is a girl who is mystically empowered to battle evil. Super strength, speed, and reflexes. She'd dance circles around the best Jaffa warrior." Xander continued.

"Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?" the general asked.

"I asked them not to tell you. To keep her off the NID's radar. Didn't help exactly." Xander replied.

"And now?" Hammond queried.

"Now, she had assassins after her, which you helped out with. I figured you deserved to know. Plus I'm in a much stronger position to deal with the NID if they try to take her now." Xander explained.

"I see. Dr. Jackson, I'd like to see that report on my desk soonest." Hammond ordered. And the uncomfortable part of the briefing was done.

The good part came next. The general asked him to stay behind when SG-1 left and called in Major Paul Davis.

Xander got his Diplomatic ID; and Diplomatic IDs for Willow, Buffy, and Giles. Along with a big, honking check.

"We assume you'll have to put down first, last, and a security deposit on housing." Major Davis explained. "So this check is a bit larger than next month's check will be. But this has to cover all your expenses. Housing, your own salary, plus the salaries of any employees you choose to hire. So make it last." he advised.

Xander figured he could make the check last a year, even paying his friends a salary. Maybe small salaries. He had one last request before he left. To add William Fordham to the list of his attachés. Major Davis promised to courier the ID to him by next Monday.

* * *

><p>Next he went to the infirmary to teach Samantha how to use the healing device. She and Dr. Fraiser were waiting for him there.<p>

"Janet! Nice to see you. Is it again? Or for the first time?" Xander wondered.

Janet gave her 'that's nice' smile she gave her patients. "Well, first time in the flesh. Let's just leave it at that." she said as they shook hands. "So, you're going to teach Sam how to use a Goa'uld healing device? Let's get to work then. Is there anything you need?"

"Some towels, a bowl of water, and a scalpel." Jolinar requested

"A scalpel?" both women replied together.

"Just for me. You can't learn healing by me talking to you. You have to learn by doing." Xander explained then held out his left arm. "See? It's how I learned. And you can really only see the scar of my first time." Xander traced the faint, white line that ran diagonally down his arm.

"I can't cut you just so I can learn how to do this." Sam complained.

"You're not. You're just going to heal me. I'm cutting me." Xander stated as he grabbed a scalpel of a nearby tray and cut. He had to grit his teeth for a moment, but Jolinar soon had the pain under control. Then he walked over to the women, sat on the bed, and held his bleeding arm out to them. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

The question seemed to spring Sam from her shock. She grabbed the healing device and asked, "What do I do?" as Dr. Fraiser ran for some supplies.

"Concentrate." Jolinar stated.

"What helps me is to imagine exactly what I'm trying to do. So, if you're trying to close a wound, picture it closing." Xander slowly pinched the fingers of his right hand together to illustrate what he meant.

Janet returned with the water and towels that Xander had requested. Xander put one towel on the bed under his arm to catch the blood dripping. He put one in the shallow bucket of water and set the rest aside.

"That's good Sam." Xander encouraged while feeling the wound. "But there's still bleeding under there. Now go back over and imagine closing the wound deeper under the skin."

Once she was done with that he wiped the wound off with the wet towel and felt around. "Right there," he pointed to one end of the wound where she had missed healing deeper. "That's one reason for healing from deep to shallow. Once you heal the skin, it's hard to see where the wound used to be."

"Amazing." Janet breathed as she examined the wound.

"Better than my first try. Then again, Jolinar's only advice, _again_, was to 'concentrate'.

"Alright. Let's go again." Xander said. Though this time he let Jolinar slash their arm.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Janet asked.

"Yeah. For a second. Then Jo takes care of the pain and it's all good. He could pre-numb my whole arm, but then I might cut too deep without realizing it." Xander explained.

Sam begins healing Xander's arm again, from deep to shallow this time. After three passes it was completely healed.

Xander was impressed.

But Sam's mind suddenly clicked. "Wait a second. You said on P4X-371 that you couldn't use these. So how did you practice healing?"

Xander looked a little sheepish. He hadn't been planning on telling them that. "Oh. That. Yeah. Well, you see Willow and I were able to build a healing device using Earth technology."

"You were? Are you going to share it with us?" Sam was incredibly happy. Their first alien to human crossover technology. She could almost taste it.

"No."

Sam's face fell. "No? What do you mean no? Do you know how many people technology like that could help?"

"I do. I really do. And if you want to talk to the President, we could begin negotiations for that. But I'm not going to be making any deal that doesn't involve full disclosure of the Stargate program and aliens. If they want alien tech, they have to admit that aliens exist. And I think that's going to be a deal breaker for this administration." Xander finished a little sadly.

Sam was glaring at him. But Xander wasn't backing down on this. Janet stepped in. "Ok. I think we have all the data we need. I'm sure you have places to be Mr. Harris."

#"Actually, Sam and I have one thing left to discuss. In private, if you don't mind, Dr. Fraiser."# Jolinar said.

Sam lost a little of her hostility and nodded to Janet to leave them alone. "What is it?"

When Janet had left, Xander answered. "Well we wanted to congratulate you on your promotion again. And ask you why the heck you were still in the military?"

"I love what I do here. You should know that." Sam defended.

"And you couldn't do that as _Dr._ Samantha Carter? Where the Air Force fraternization rules no longer apply?"

Sam blushed. Looking at the kid who knew her deepest, darkest secrets and probably her dirtiest fantasies was extremely unnerving. "I can't." she shook her head.

"From what I recall from Daniel's alternate dimension, Dr. Samantha Carter was still involved in the Stargate program despite not having any military training. And engaged to General O'Neill. Just talk to Hammond, ok? I'm guessing he'd be willing to bend a few rules to keep you in the program." Xander hopped down from the bed and left Carter to think about his and Jolinar's idea.

Jolinar almost groaned out loud as he struggled to keep Xander from making a comment about how Sam should look at herself in the mirror naked more. _Teenagers. _ Jolinar thought to himself. He knew there was a reason Tok'ra didn't normally take adolescents as hosts.

* * *

><p>Joyce had nixed the idea of a ride along during the school week, but had supported her daughter's choice and scheduled one in a nearby town for that Friday. She was frankly both happy and worried about Buffy's interest in law enforcement. Happy that Buffy wanted to be on the right side of the law. Worried that her daughter wouldn't make the screening process. Her background was... sketchy, she had to admit to herself. She dropped Buffy off for her ride along and settled down in the police station to read.<p>

"Can I help you ma'am?" an officer asked her.

"Oh, no. My daughter's doing a ride along. It's just too far to drive home and back again tonight. So I'm just waiting here." she explained.

"Your local station doesn't offer ride alongs?" he wondered.

"No, they do. It's just that Buffy's been hassled by someone from the Sunnydale station. She didn't say who, but she wanted to do it away from there." she stated.

"Oh, Sunnydale." he made a face at the name of the town. "Anyway. There's no reason for you to sit here all night. You could come on a ride along with me."

Joyce considered for a moment. She was technically seeing Ted right now. But it wasn't really a date, even if he was cute. She smiled and agreed to the trip.

* * *

><p>Buffy thought the ride along was... slow, but interesting. Dealing with a couple of drunks and a drug dealer. They were new experiences for someone whose nightlife knowledge tended toward the demonic variety. The next call reminded her too much of Sunnydale in a different way. A motorcycle rider had lost control going at least 90 mph without a helmet. The gore was certainly familiar enough. The fact that it wasn't caused by a demon was the thing that shocked her. The kid was just being stupid. Going too fast without a helmet and now he was toast. Or maybe jam, looking at the smear that had once been a boy. She overheard the paramedics saying they were hopeful that they could save his liver and kidneys for transplants. Everything else was shot. Buffy felt a familiar pang of not being able to save somebody. But could you really save someone from themselves? The night went from interesting to depressing.<p>

A domestic disturbance call was the last of the night. Buffy was happy that she didn't have to mediate this. The husband was yelling at the wife and vice versa. The poor officer was trying to calm the situation. Buffy watched the argument from the doorway. Suddenly, the husband pulled a knife from behind the TV. What kind of person kept a knife behind a TV, she didn't know. She just yelled, "Knife!" and started moving, but she wasn't going to make it to the back of the house in time.

Luckily, the warning was enough. The officer caught the knife arm and soon had him pinned on the ground with his now empty hand twisted behind his back. The man was screaming bloody murder and the wife was now attempting to slap the officer. Buffy continued into the room and placed herself between the men and the much taller woman. She was more than fast enough to deflect all the woman's impotent strikes until the cop finished dealing with the man and could focus on the woman.

The woman stopped trying to hit anyone and broke down crying. She didn't want her husband to go to jail no matter what a skeeze he was. Buffy was actually a little touched at the compassion the officer showed as he explained exactly what was going to happen and that he didn't charge her with assault for hitting him.

Back in the car with the husband, Buffy could smell the alcohol rolling off him. It was impressive that he could drink so much and still remain standing.

"You really shouldn't have intervened like that." the officer admonished. "You could have been injured." Buffy started to object but was cut off. "But since you saved that lady from some jail time for assaulting an officer, I guess we'll let it go this time. But if you ever do a ride along again, you should know that it's our job to protect you. Not the other way around." He smiled at her.

Buffy even cracked a wry smile at that. Not her job to protect anyone. It was a nice thought. They made their way back to the station, where she met her mother also coming back from her ride along.

"Mom?" she queried.

"Buffy! I decided to do a ride along too while you did yours." Joyce explained. "It was very informative," she looked back at the officer who had given her the tour. "And if you would like to become a police officer, I fully support you." she drew her daughter into an embrace. And on the plus side she had gotten the officer's name and number. He'd said that if she ever had any trouble with the Sunnydale PD that she should call him. Joyce made a note of that and to call him if things didn't work out with Ted. He certainly was cute.

* * *

><p>Willow, Ford and Buffy were reading in the Library on a Saturday even though there was no current Big Bad. Willow was reading one of several books Xander had assigned for her on wormholes, astrophysics, crystal geology, and electrical engineering. She had devoured the books on electrical engineering and geology, but the ones on wormhole physics and theoretical astrophysics were tough. One was even written by Samantha Carter herself. Ford was reading some books on military history and small unit tactics. And Buffy was reading an introductory book to criminal justice.<p>

"I didn't think you actually had to study to become a cop." Buffy complained.

"Yes, most departments prefer their officers to have a college degree. Preferably in criminal science or a related field." Giles came out of his office. He was doing just as much, if not more, research on this than Buffy was. The idea that his Slayer could have a semi-normal life with a career was mind boggling. But with two, maybe three, Slayers now loose on the Earth, the possibility was there. Assuming of course, that the aliens didn't destroy it first. Xander had assured them they would be fine while he was gone, but it felt different without the boy here.

He had to admit that he was a little uncomfortable around Xander since the boy had told him off. But the size of the enemy facing them at the time had been enormous. Xander even admitted that without the memories of facing worse, he might have panicked as well. So, no hard feelings all around, but Giles was still uneasy. Sometimes Xander was the same boy he had been before Halloween and other times he was a different boy. No, man. Other times he was a different _man_ altogether. It was often difficult to remember that fact.


	24. Chapter 28

Chapter 28.

A big thank you to ReflectionsOfReality for help with the ideas for some new uses of crystal technology.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Just a reminder: in my world, the laws of conservation of energy apply. So the Zats work like Tasers on steroids. One shot disables, two may kill, three or more will almost certainly kill, but additional shocks after death can sometimes revive dead people (like shock paddles). Three never, ever disintegrates.<p>

"Jenny Calendar."

Jenny spun around at the voice then sighs, "You startled me."

The man stepped up to her desk as she stepped around the other side. "You look well."

"Yes, I'm fine." Jenny answered, "I know I haven't written as much lately Uncle Enyos. I've been busy."

Enyos removed his hat. "I cannot imagine what is so important to make you ignore the responsibility to your people."

"I haven't ignored anything. The curse still holds." Jenny assured him.

Enyos interrupted, "The elder woman has been reading signs. Something has changed."

"Nothing has changed." Jenny countered.

"You know what it is, this thing vengeance?" Enyos asked.

Jenny smiled a vicious smile. "I promise you. Angel still suffers. Only a few days ago he was tortured almost to death. And he makes amends for his evil. He fights for good now.

Enyos would not be consoled. "So you just forget that he destroyed the most beloved daughter of your tribe? That he _killed_ every man, woman and child that touched her life? One day of torture is not enough. Vengeance demands that his pain be eternal as ours is!"

"Uncle. I think that.."

Enyos interrupted again, "You thought what? You thought you are Jenny Calendar now? You are still Janna, of the Kalderash people! A Gypsy. To the modern man vengeance is a verb, an idea. Payback. One thing for another. Like commerce. Not with us. Vengeance is a living thing. It passes through generations. It commands. It kills."

Jenny bowed her head, "I know... Uncle. I know."

"You do not know!" Enyos yelled. "The curse. Angel is meant to suffer, not to live as human. One moment of true happiness, of contentment, one moment where the soul that we restored no longer plagues his thoughts, and that soul is taken from him."

Jenny gasped. "Why wasn't I told this?"

"You did not need to know." Enyos answered.

"You told me to watch Angel without telling me what to watch _for_?" Jenny was the one who was outraged now. "I could have been killed! Uncle, this is insanity! If he loses his soul, people are going to die."

"Then so be it. So long as we have our vengeance. That is all that matters." Enyos countered.

Jenny grabbed her coat and walked to the door. "Then you are a fool."

* * *

><p>Giles and Xander were showing Ford and Willow a few hand to hand moves. Buffy was probably sleeping in after a late night slaying. Willow was refusing to go full speed against Xander.<p>

"Will. If you don't do this, I'm going to switch with Giles and let you try to hit him." Xander informed her.

"But what if I hurt you?" Willow whined.

"That's kinda the point, babe." Xander joked. "I'll heal. So give me your best shot."

Willow smiled. "You called me 'babe'. Like I'm a 'hot babe'."

"You are. Now would the hot babe please hit me before I trade her to Giles for a much less hot guy?" Xander quipped.

"I heard that!" Ford called out.

"Good." came the reply. And then an, "Ow." as Willow finally hit him.

"Oh, Xander! I'm sorry!" Willow cried.

Xander rubbed his jaw. "No. That was good. Hitting your opponent when he's distracted is actually lesson number two. So you're already ahead of the game." He paused for a second then ordered, "Again."

* * *

><p>"Man, I really stunk up the place." Willow complained as the three students finished their training.<p>

"You did very well," Jolinar assured her. "Xander doesn't expect you to become a Slayer. Just know enough to protect yourself and more importantly, not panic in a dangerous situation."

Willow gave a weak smile at that.

"Just be glad you're training against your boyfriend." Ford added. "Giles had no problem putting me on the mat, even if he didn't hit me."

Xander scoffed. "I was training against Angel, people. The guy is perfectly happy to hit me as hard as he could. And that's really hard."

* * *

><p>"Thank you Mr. Travers." Giles said politely as he hung up the phone. He didn't particularly want to be civil to the man who had kept him in the dark about a second Slayer, but the Council had just done his Slayer a huge favor by getting the hit on Buffy rescinded. So he bit his tongue about their methods and even informed them that Kendra had also died and there might be a third Slayer on the loose; as thanks for calling off the hit from the Order of Taraka. The Order was not known for calling off hits and he wondered exactly what favor the Council had to give or call in to accomplish that and hoped it wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass.<p>

* * *

><p>Xander hated math class that day. Not because of the math. Because of the new student-teacher they had, Parker Abrams. Everything about him screamed military. The way he looked, the way he stood, the way he avoided all eye contact with Xander. Buffy wasn't so lucky. He caught him smiling at her, even though he never so much as grinned at anyone else. Unfortunately, the smile was fake. It never even reached his eyes. But Buffy didn't seem to notice. Xander shook his head. Buffy really had the worst taste in men.<p>

At lunch, the four friends sat together.

"That's the last straw." Xander decided. "Planting agents in the school is going too far."

"Agents? Who's an agent?" Willow cried.

"The new student teachers. They're NID." Xander stated.

"Really?" Buffy whined. "But they're too cute to be soldiers. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Xander replied. "And we're going to-"

"Hi guys!" Cordy and a boy sat down with them.

Stunned silence greeted her, until Xander spoke up. "Cordelia. What are you doing here?"

"What? Like I can't eat with you guys?" Cordelia countered. More silence. "Ok. Fine. Four super hot student teachers just started and we wanted to know if they were monsters or something."

The four friends stopped looking at Cordelia and started looking at the boy she brought with her.

"Oh, it's ok. This is Devon. He plays in that band, 'Dingos Ate My Baby'. One of the guys is a werewolf. So they all know about the things that go bump in the night." Cordy explained.

"And what did you tell them about us?" Buffy said dangerously.

"Just that you guys are like an amateur demon-hunting group." Devon answered for her. "And Oz is only a werewolf three nights a month. It means we have to chain him up those nights and it cuts down on the number of gigs we can play. But we deal."

"Ok, back up." Xander decided. "You wanted to know about the student teachers? They're not monsters. They're soldiers. We don't know what they're after yet, but I'd keep your friend..."

"Oz"

"...Oz out of their way. I don't want to think about what they might do to him." Xander finished. "And we'd like to meet him. Make sure he's taking all the safeguards necessary. Could you send him by the library after school?"

"Sure." Devon nodded. "But aren't the military, like, the good guys?"

"Not this time." Xander answered. "These guys are like the Principal Snyder of the military. We're not sure yet what they're up to, but we're pretty sure it's no good."

Devon and Cordelia nodded at the simile.

"They've been sniffing around Sunnydale for a while now. And sending soldiers into our school is just the last straw. We're going to find out exactly what they're up to." Xander stated firmly.

"We'll warn Oz to stay away." Cordelia announced.

* * *

><p>After school they made their way to the English room instead of the computer room.<p>

"I thought you said we were going to hack the NID database?" Buffy wondered.

"Yeah, but it's a lot easier to do that when you already have a user name and password. And we're going to the English room because that's where the NID agent logged into their database. They should recognize the IP address and let us in without tripping any alarms. We might be able to get in without them knowing about us." Xander explained.

They got to the room and Xander explained how he had seen where the NID agent's fingers had gone as he was logging in.

"Ok, first letter. Right shift, left index finger. Either the upper or middle row." Xander took his seat and tried to visualize where he saw the student teacher's fingers going.

"You don't know the letter?" Buffy asked.

"It's not an exact science, Buff." Xander admitted. "But we'll narrow it down to a few likely possibilities."

"So, it could start with a capital F, G, R, or T" Willow announced.

"Probably T or G," Xander added, "That seemed like where his fingers were moving."

Ford dutifully started writing the letters. Buffy mostly watched.

They got it narrowed down to a few likely username and password combinations and Willow started entering them in, one at a time. GatesF and the password NID544 finally worked.

"We're in!" Willow announced.

* * *

><p>Oh boy were they in. In deep was more like it. The NID had just about everything on them. Files on each of them, including Giles, Jenny and Ford. Transcripts of their radio communication almost since they started using them. And more recently, transcripts of conversations that took place in Giles' apartment, the school library, and Buffy's house. It also looked like they had those phones bugged.<p>

Buffy was livid. "How dare they!" she shouted.

"Shh." Xander tried to calm her. They were here after school again. If anyone not in the know heard them, they'd be kicked out.

"And they've been tracking me on the radio." Buffy turned the volume down to a loud stage whisper. "The radio _You_ made me use." she wagged a finger accusingly at Xander.

"And I knew they might be listening." Xander admitted. "But it was a calculated risk. They've been avoiding you ever since you started using the radios. And I have plans for using that to our advantage." Xander gave his best evil grin.

Buffy considered that and gave him a smack on the shoulder. "It had better be good, buster."

"It will be. Xander and I are working on sub-space communicators that the NID will never be able to crack." Willow beamed.

"As soon as those are finished, we're going to have a night of fun with the NID teams. Run them all over Sunnydale." Xander informed her.

"Fine. What about the other bugs. I don't want them spying on me in my house." Buffy complained.

"I'll call General Hammond, see if we can get some bug sweeping equipment. But for now, we'll just discuss important things outside, in places we know aren't bugged." Xander explained. "Willow, click on that." after looking at what came on the screen for a second. "Print them. Print all of them. Ford, could you get more paper?"

"What is it?" Buffy crowded around the computer too.

"SGC mission reports. Looks like all of them." Xander answered.

* * *

><p>They had hundreds of reports once they were all finished. They carried them to the library to meet with Giles.<p>

"What's all this?" he asked as they came in with the reports, totaling several reams of paper. Another young man was waiting there too.

"Homework. For Miss Calendar. She's such a horrible teacher. Giving us homework on the first day of class." Xander answered. He quickly started scribbling a note. "Hi, you must be Oz. Sorry we're late."

"Jenny assigned you this-" Giles stopped talking as he read the note. '_Library has been bugged by NID. Play along._' "I see." He said and passed the note to Oz, "Well, I shall certainly talk to her about the amount of homework she assigns you."

Oz nodded. "It's no problem. Devon said you wanted to talk?"

Xander scribbled another note. '_Take it to your house? It's bugged too though._' "If you're going to go to her house, do you want to take it with you?"

Giles read the note and nodded. "Yes, yes I suppose I could do that."

Xander motioned with his head. "Good, we'll walk you to your car. Oz, you want to walk with us?"

Outside, Xander figured they were safe enough to explain to Oz that there was a secret military organization that might be after supernatural beings in Sunnydale. Oz explained that he had some manacles that he chained himself up with. But they always chafed his wrists and ankles after he transformed. He was afraid they might not be enough some night. Giles offered him the book cage as a temporary fix until they were able to construct a stronger, more permanent cage. Oz thanked him for the offer and promised to be there the first night of the full moon.

After Oz was gone, Xander explained that they had hacked the NID servers and found the SGC mission reports there. It would be good reading for the people who didn't have memories of being on SG-1. And he was curious what SG-1 had been up to since his memories of the group ended. He also explained the bugs and the countermeasures they would soon be taking.

Giles felt that perhaps not tipping their hand so soon would be best and just work around the bugs for now. But the others all felt that enough was enough of this and to send a clear message that they weren't going to take this from them.

By then it was getting dark and high time to start patrolling.

* * *

><p>Buffy and Xander did an early patrol together that night. Xander let Willow patrol with them on the condition that she carry a zat and shoot first, ask questions later.<p>

It was a fairly successful patrol. Willow zatted a vampire. Xander was pretty sure it was the first time a zat had been used on the undead. But it seemed to work well enough on them. The vamp was down long enough for Xander to stake it with his spear. They checked in with Giles over their monitored radios to let him know that everyone was ok and that they were heading home for dinner.

"I realize that P90s aren't ideal for fighting vamps, but I think secure communications are far more important than having slightly more effective weapons." Jolinar stated. Again. Xander really wanted to adapt the staff weapons to fire from a more compact package. He didn't like how the vamps had shrugged off body shots from the P90s. He was really being more stubborn about this than someone with Major Carter's memories should have been. She would understand how important secure communications were.

"You have to get naquadah from somewhere." Xander argued. "And we don't have a source of that yet."

"So? We cannibalize a staff weapon or two. We have ten." Jolinar argued back. That was the real rub. Xander didn't think they had enough weapons yet and didn't want to sacrifice any of the few they did have.

Buffy and Willow just walked along enjoying the argument the other two were having. It was funny watching them argue back and forth in the same body.

"Enough." Buffy finally put her foot down. "We vote for the communicators. That's three against one, Xander. I'm tired of the NID listening to my conversations."

"Xander and I will start on them after school tomorrow." Willow agreed as they reached Buffy's porch.

As they reached the front door, Buffy went to unlock it, but the door swung open. "You guys wait here for-"

"We'll cover the back." Xander cut her off. He and Willow pulled their zats and ran around the house. Buffy gave them a five-count before she pulled her own zat and made her way into the house. Buffy heard glass breaking and her mom shout. She dashed for the kitchen. She found her mom in a man's embrace, clearly kissing him back. Buffy quickly hid her zat. She didn't think it was noticed when they were distracted by Xander and Willow coming in the back door.

"Mom." Buffy called their attention back to her while her friends put their zats away. "The door was open and we heard glass breaking."

"Uh, I-I-I broke a wineglass. Y-y-you're home early." Joyce struggled to concentrate. "Oh! Uh, this is my daughter, Buffy and her friends Xander and Willow. Buffy, this is Ted."

"Hi."

"Hi."

* * *

><p>"Here we go." Ted slid some mini pizzas from the pan. "So you kids thought Joyce was in trouble and came to rescue her? That's very brave. But probably not very smart. In a situation like that you should probably call the police."<p>

"Oh, Buffy doesn't trust the police in Sunnydale." Joyce said as she and Buffy came back in from outside. "And I'm starting to understand why. They closed the case on our neighbor, poor Mrs. McGruber's house burning down, after they verified Buffy's alibi. Apparently she was their only suspect."

"That poor woman." Ted sympathized for a second before moving on to computers and computer programs. "So, what kind of technology do you kids play with?"

Willow and Xander visibly stiffened and exchanged a glance at that question. It could have been innocent, it was certainly in character for a computer salesman. But they certainly couldn't rule out an NID operation. Getting someone close to the target's mother would be just their style.

"Well...I like my new nine-Gig hard drive." Willow had to think for a moment about the Earth tech she had.

Ted pulled mini pizzas from his pan, "But you don't love it, 'cause without the DMA upgrade your computer's only half a rocket ship."

Willow sighed, "Yeah, but who can afford the upgrades?"

"Well, you can! I get the demos for free, I don't see why I shouldn't give 'em to you for the same price! Any friend of Buffy's..." Ted offered.

"Thank you! That would be so nice." Willow offered. It was pretty nice. She probably would have been speechless before leaning about alien technologies. She wasn't planning on using Earth tech much longer if she could help it.

Xander munched on a mini pizza. "Can I just say, this is the finest pizza _ever_ on God's green Earth. What is your secret?"

"Well, after you bake it, you fry it in herbs and olive oil, but you gotta use..." Ted knocked on his pan, "a cast-iron skillet. No room for compromise there."

%They are very good. Especially the way he was able to cover up the taste of the sedatives.% Jolinar agreed. Xander almost spit out the pizza but Jolinar stopped him. %Relax, I'm taking care of the sedative. The dosage is quite low. You could eat every pizza in the room and it wouldn't have the slightest effect on us. Even Willow could eat every pizza and wouldn't be harmed, just groggy. I'm more worried about this Ted's motives now though. Sedating your date, even mildly, is generally frowned upon in Earth culture.%

/You don't say?/ Xander said sarcastically. /Fine, what's the plan? I vote we zat him. Right here, right now./ Xander challenged.

%I thought we were keeping this a secret from Joyce?% Jolinar wondered.

/We were. But then she brought home a guy who's drugging her. And possibly an NID agent. She needs to know about the dangers of this town./ Xander argued.

%I would clear that with Buffy first. She is already unhappy with you for shooting Angel.% Jolinar reasoned.

/Which brings us back to: what do we do in the mean time?/ Xander asked again.

%Eat as many pizzas as we can.% Jolinar shoved the rest of the one they were holding in their mouth.

"Sorry, these things are just so good," was Jolinar's excuse when he was reprimanded for the number of pizzas he was eating. Buffy didn't get any and Willow only got one.

* * *

><p>Xander walked Willow home. She was perfectly willing to stay home for the second patrol of the night. Which made Xander wonder exactly what else she was perfectly willing to do.<p>

/No, no, no, no, no./ Xander smacked his head.

%No, what? Why are you hitting ourself?% Jolinar asked.

/I was telling myself, no taking advantage of Willow./ Xander explained.

%An admirable sentiment, but was the hitting really necessary?% Jolinar praised.

/Tony always said.../ Xander stopped. /No. It probably wasn't necessary./

%I didn't mean to bring up...% Jolinar started

/Don't worry about it./ Xander cut him off. /Let's just find Buffy and let her know what's going on./

* * *

><p>When they met up with Buffy and Giles, Buffy was pacing beside Giles' car. "We haven't seen a single vamp since that one Willow shot." she complained vehemently.<p>

"Sounds like someone could use a mini-pizza." Xander offered as he walked towards the car.

"Don't start, Xander." Buffy warned. "I don't want to hear about how good they are."

"Xander is right, they were good, but they were also laced with sedative. Something in the phenotorin family. I believe he meant that you should, 'take a chill pill'." Jolinar stated.

Giles suffered a sudden coughing attack. Buffy glared at him and then back at Jolinar who was the picture of innocence.

"You should know that Xander wanted to zat the man in the kitchen. I was able to convince him to clear that with you first." Jolinar stated.

"Zat the man? Is that really necessary? Wouldn't it be better to turn him over to the authorities?" Giles asked as his cough cleared up.

"We think he might be NID." Jolinar explained. "We can't be sure yet, but it's the kind of op they would run. It's called a 'honey trap'. An operative goes in and forms a relationship with a target. This time using a mild sedative to help things along. Once he's in, he can gather information much easier, or even turn the target."

"Giles we have to stop them." Buffy was on her feet. "They can't do this to my Mom!"

"Miss Summers. We don't know for certain if Ted is NID. There is only a very good chance that he is. Capturing him might tell us more. Also, we both believe that it is time your mother was told. Everything." Jolinar stated.

"I don't believe that would be best." Giles countered. "There's a good reason that Slayers have always worked in secret."

"Giles. I've seen what 1,000 years of secrets managed to do for the Tok'ra. Bupkis. Ok? We have to make this knowledge public. Buffy's mom is the first step." Xander argued.

"You're overturning centuries worth of tradition for your own goals, Xander. You have to think. There are very good reasons for the secrecy." Giles contended.

"Oh, yeah. That reminds me. Here are your diplomatic IDs. You now have diplomatic immunity." Xander passed out the identification papers. "What were we talking about? Oh yeah. Secrecy. I'm tired of seeing Sunnydale as the front lines of a war that people don't know is going on. I'm _**going**_ to make this public soon enough, Giles. The only question is whether she hears it from you now or from me later." Xander challenged. "Name one good thing that secrecy accomplished."

"It saved a number of Slayers during the Inquisition." Giles offered immediately.

"If I ask for two examples, are you going to have them?" Xander wondered.

"Enough." Buffy announced. "Fine, we'll tell my mother. _After_ we have evidence that he's using sedatives on her. Xander, did you really have to eat all the mini pizzas?"

"They were really good. Besides, it kept the rest of you from eating many." Xander defended.

"They were evidence." Buffy declared.

"They were _very tasty_ evidence." Xander countered.

* * *

><p>"Well that was certainly convenient," the Mayor exclaimed. "Remind me to thank that Slayer for eliminating Spike for us. It certainly made recruitment easier. How many do we have?"<p>

"We have 16 vampires and 7 assorted demons." Finch checked his records.

"Not bad. Keep up the recruitment though. We're going to need more for the Ascension." The Mayor instructed. "Now it's time to send them a message. You've got the sign done?"

Finch put on gloves to keep his finger prints off the large sign, before bringing it out. '_Sunnydale is ours_.' it read.

"Wonderful. Make sure they leave that with the bodies." Finch turned to leave, but the Mayor called him back. "Oh, and Allen. If they could save me a heart? You know? A nice, fresh one? Just the one, though. Gotta watch the waistline." He waved as the deputy Mayor left to go organize their counter attack. Vampires and demons were leaving Sunnydale because of these military guys and he couldn't have that. Not when he was so close.

It was a political move really. One attack was unlikely to dissuade the military from continuing their operations here, but he had to show the demon population that he was doing something about this problem. He just had to buy enough time to get to the Ascension.

* * *

><p>Captain Turner and his team were on a routine patrol and were chasing something. They hadn't gotten a good look at it. Then the screams started coming over the radio. Everyone in his squad had to pull their earpieces out. The screams were both loud and very disturbing.<p>

Turner switched to the backup frequency and called the base.

The tech that answered the call transferred him to Major Rice. "What's going on out there, Captain?"

"Someone's under attack. We were hoping you could tell us which one and where they were." Turner answered.

Suddenly the noises in the other radios ceased.

"I'm going to do a check on the other frequency, sir." Turner informed him.

"Do it. Rice out."

He switched frequencies again. "This is Turner. All teams check in." he ordered. "This is alpha team checking in."

"Bravo team checking in."

Silence.

"Charlie team? Do you read?" Turner felt the pit grow in his stomach. After a few more seconds he decided to move on, "Delta team, go."

"Delta team checking in."

"Base, this is Alpha team leader. We cannot raise Charlie team. Repeat, cannot raise Charlie team. Please advise of their last known position."

"Stand by Alpha team." came the reply.

Once the coordinates were relayed, Alpha team headed out. He knew the other teams would be heading that way too. He just hoped he was wrong about what they'd find there.

* * *

><p>The next day, Buffy and Xander explained their plans to Willow and Ford. Willow also got her diplomatic ID and Ford got a promise for one soon.<p>

"If we can get you a sample of the sedative, can you identify it for Buffy's mom?" Xander asked.

"Sure, I suppose." Willow answered.

"So, we find a way for him to make more of those mini pizzas again. Xander tests them first, then Willow proves it. We figure out what he's trying to do to my mom, then we explain the supernatural to my mom. No sweat." Buffy decided.

It was convenient for Ted to show up at the school that day. They tried to schedule something sooner, but they'd have to wait until mini-golf on Saturday.

Until then, Willow and Xander had plans to create some Tok'ra communication devices from scratch. Xander was beginning to wonder when he was going to find time to look at houses for his base of operations. Until Ford made the mistake of mentioning that he had nothing to do that evening. "How would you like to help me out? I need someone to check out some houses for me." Xander asked.

"Sure. You'll have to tell me what you're looking for though." Ford agreed.

Xander had a list done up in no time. _Big. Two or more stories. At least 6 rooms for offices or enough large rooms that could be split. A room in the basement big enough for a training room or space enough to make one without taking out support columns. Not near the campus, or the warehouse district._ Those were the must haves.

To that he added things that would be nice. _Good insulation, good roof, good electrical system, and highway access._ Then he handed Ford the housing listing booklet he was looking at and thanked the man. Delegation was a wonderful thing.

* * *

><p>That left Xander free to work on the communication devices with Willow. they weren't going to be able to use human tech for this. They needed crystal technology to access the sub-space pathways they were going to use for communication. The biggest problem was that they'd have to use naquadah as a power source and that meant shielding the radioactive element. He would work on that part while Willow worked on replicating the crystals.<p>

Xander had already had instruction from Jolinar on this and had already successfully created a second set of crystals from their working communication device. He only had two crystals out of eight that had gone bad. Fairly good for a first try. To test the device out, Jolinar had called the Tok'ra and given them his briefing of the situation with the SGC and how he had helped them and how they had helped him. And how the war against the demons was going.

After that unpleasantness was over, he switched the original crystals back in and set out the copies for Willow to copy.

* * *

><p>Willow was having a lot of trouble copying the crystals. They kept becoming far too big. It wouldn't normally be a problem for a Goa'uld, who would just cut the crystals to the right size afterward, but they lacked the technology to cut the crystals.<p>

Xander couldn't do it for her right now, he was focused on building the devices themselves so they wouldn't kill the person using them. And the materials for crystals were cheap. So he let her keep trying.

She was still trying the next day during their free period in the library. She'd brought along only a limited amount of raw materials so she couldn't go overboard like she had at home.

Miss Calendar stopped by to see Giles between classes. "We still on for tonight? There's something I need to talk to you about." she asked.

"Mmm? Yes. Yes of course." Giles looked up from his books and smiled.

Jenny noticed Willow's activities and stopped to watch. "Willow, are you _growing_ those crystals?"

"Yeah. Xander taught me how. We need them for the communication device, but I'm a failure. I keep growing them too big." Willow held up two crystals of similar shape, but one was twice as big as the other.

Miss calendar picked up the larger crystal. "You mean you can't use this because it's _too big_?"

"Yeah, I'm getting better though. You should see the ones at home. There's one as big as Xander's leg. He had to stop it so it wouldn't destroy the house." Willow told her.

"Willow, crystals like this are used in magic all the time and they're pretty expensive." Jenny started. "A small one like this might run $50. If you have one that's as big as Xander's leg... that could be worth thousands, maybe tens of thousands."

"Really? Wow. So my mistakes might not be a bad thing after all?" Willow brightened considerably. "Can I ask though? What do magic users use the crystals for?"

"They use them to channel and focus energy. Special ones can even store energy." Jenny explained.

"Hmm. That's what the aliens use them for too. Except for the power one. Not sure about that." Willow replied.

* * *

><p>Xander was having a frustrating day. He just couldn't get the materials to shield the communication device at a reasonable price. And the equipment he'd need to reshape the shielding of the staff weapon was twice as expensive. No shielding meant no naquadah. No naquadah meant no power. At least no portable power. He might be able to rig something up to power this from the grid like the healing device, but that would leave them with only two secure communication devices and one that had to stay here.<p>

Willow wasn't having any more luck with the crystals. She had gotten better but she seemed to have plateaued. He was about to relieve her and make the crystals himself and let Willow work on the power problem since she seemed to have solved the last one so easily.

"Oh, Xander. I talked to Miss Calendar today and she said we could probably make money off of all the crystals that I made." She held up her day's work. "She said that these are worth $50 each. And that huge one I made might be worth thousands!" Willow finished with a squeak.

"Thousands?" Xander repeated, intrigued. "A couple more of those and we might be able to afford the shielding we'll need to power these things."

"Ooo. Speaking of power. Miss Calendar said that some crystals can hold magical power. Can these hold power too?" Willow asked.

"Well not these, but some crystals can hold power. Some can hold a lot of power." Xander answered as one of their radios chirped from the charging stand. Buffy was calling in her position.

Power. Crystals. Charging stand. Rechargeable batteries. Thoughts and ideas started flying through Xander and Jolinar's minds as they both started digging through Jolinar and Carter's memories in search of the information they'd need. Xander lost his balance to the vertigo that caused and had to lean on the chair of the healing device.

"Xander! Are you ok?" Willow looked really worried.

Xander shook his head to clear it. He was glad they were now dating because it meant there was no awkwardness when he grabbed her and kissed her fiercely. "Willow. If the Tok'ra had someone like you on their side, they would have destroyed the Goa'uld long ago."

Willow blushed from both the kiss and the compliment.

"You've solved our power problems again. We just have to make the devices a little bigger to allow for some new crystals. They'll act like rechargeable batteries. It will mean we have to build some charging stations too, but that will be easier than trying to adapt the naquadah from the staff weapons." Xander waved at the parts on Willow's workbench. "So instead of making us some crystals, do you think you can make us some charging stations?"

"Can I?" Willow said excitedly. "I'll make you the best darn charging stations you've ever seen, bub. Just don't make me grow any more crystals?" she pleaded.

"I'll handle the crystals. I'll have to make the first power crystal from scratch. That'll be hard and time consuming. But once I have a template, copying should be pretty easy." Xander informed her.

"You mean you were just copying them?" Willow cried.

"You were trying to make them from scratch? No wonder you had trouble. I'm surprised you did as well as you did then." Xander was a little floored. "Did you want to try copying one to see if that's easier?"

She did. And she was able to copy the crystal on her first try. In fact, she copied all eight crystals perfectly before Xander had her stop. Her skills were needed elsewhere.

Xander grabbed a radio and left for Radioshed.

* * *

><p>AN: The conversation between Enyos and Jenny was mostly adapted from the two conversations in canon.

Inconsistent canon: Oz could not have been bitten by his cousin in human form and been transformed into a werewolf. And if he was already a wolf on the night of "Phases", then he would have had to have been bitten at least a month before. If not more.

McGruber. Probably inspired by SNL character. But spelled differently.

Dematorin is the sedative used in canon. It's not real.


	25. Chapter 29

Chapter 29.

Thank you to my new Beta Prometeus. This story is so much better thanks to his efforts.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>The next couple of days were a blur. He and Willow worked on the new communication devices whenever they had a spare moment. The difference between building these and the healing device was that they now had funding and they also now had Buffy pestering them for an ETA on a finished product.<p>

After they had finished their first two devices, Willow had another breakthrough. She figured out a way to adjust the frequency (for lack of a better term) of the transceiver by adjusting the amount of electricity that flowed through one of the crystals. She and Xander together were able to improvise a control knob that users could now turn to change 'channels'. The down side was that the new channels used progressively more power, so they decreased the talk time from weeks to as low as four days depending on the channels used.

On the other hand, Xander had perfected his 'battery' crystals and they now had a good supply of them and a couple charging stations. Each crystal was purple and about the size of a Double-A battery. And while one crystal could power each communication device on its own, each device had room for two crystals. The devices used one crystal at a time for power until one was dead and that one could be hot-swapped out while the device was still being powered by the other. All the same, the batteries took a lot of energy to charge. Each crystal took the equivalent of running the healing device for five hours straight to fully charge. But since they were only running the chargers on one circuit instead of six for the healing device, it took almost 30 hours to charge each crystal. Xander cringed a little when he thought of what the Rosenberg's electricity bill was going to be like.

Willow didn't want to stop and think about things like that, she was far too focused on building their Subspace Radios, or S-Radios as she called them. He did however, force Willow to take a break with him and Ford to go look at houses. Ford had narrowed it down to three choices and now they were going to make a final decision. The one on the west side was nice, but it was old, which would mean upgrades, and it was the furthest from everything.

The one on the south side was also older, but it was closer to everything. And it was Huge. Enough room for them to expand a couple of times.

The one on the north side was the newest, but also the smallest. However, all the amenities were up to date. Roof, insulation, wiring, etc. It had enough room, but seemed small after the south side house. The only thing that was really too small was the training room downstairs. But they could probably make do.

The fact that they'd probably have to re-wire the new one to get more power for their tech anyway, plus Willow's vote when they told her she could have a new workshop in the south side house pushed them in that direction.

Xander made a cash offer of $10,000 less than they were asking, but since it wasn't contingent on financing, he was hopeful it would be accepted. If there was one nice thing about Sunnydale it was the housing market. It meant that the folks in Washington had seriously over estimated their housing allowance. Xander was able to buy a virtual mansion outright with the first check he'd been given. Granted, it didn't leave much for salaries or refurbishment on this check, but they were used to not getting paid. One more month wouldn't hurt.

Willow gushed and grabbed Xander's arm when the real estate agent had called them a couple.

* * *

><p>Xander was surprised to get a call that night. The offer had been accepted. He was to bring a certified check to the closing the next day. He had to reschedule the closing until after school, explaining that he had class and hoped they assumed college.<p>

Willow kissed and hugged him when he told her the news. Once she'd calmed down they went back to work.

* * *

><p>Angel was finally feeling strong enough to go out again after the Drusilla incident. He was walking around a cemetery and then...<p>

He opened his eyes and looked around. All he saw was white. Was he dead? Was this heaven?

* * *

><p>"You idiot." Major Rice yelled at the soldier in front of him. "We are about to try and recruit the Slayer, and you go and kidnap her boyfriend. Tell me how this helps our cause?"<p>

"He's a vampire, sir." Captain Turner explained. "Hard to tell them apart." Turner was more than a little upset after the slaughter of Charlie team. What was the difference? This vampire or another. Just dust him and problem solved.

"And you, Doctor Angleman. You had good lighting, why didn't you discover this error?" Rice accused.

"I never saw his face Major, I only implanted the chip in the back of his head." Doctor Angleman explained.

Major Rice had the sneaking suspicion that Maggie Walsh had known who they'd taken in and did nothing to stop it. But he couldn't prove it right now. He just sighed. Without proof there was nothing he could do. He disliked this posting and had been all too happy to have Colonel Maybourne relieve him for a time. But there were pressing matters in Washington to take care of and the Colonel couldn't stay. "Fine. Dope him with some happy juice. Triple dose. That should erase whatever memories he might have of this place or at least make him think it was a happy dream. Then let him go. We can't afford to bring the Slayer down on this place."

* * *

><p><em>Buffy was walking through the park by her house. It was daylight but she and Angel were walking side by side. They passed Miss Calendar who was holding a pair of binoculars saying that it was 'a wonderful time for bird watching'. Jenny unwrapped a piece of cheese. Cutting a cross out, she gave the cheese cross to Buffy then the rest to Captain Turner as the scene changed to a concrete bunker. <em>

_Captain Turner stood behind a kneeling Angel and drove a stake through his heart. "Oops." He shrugged his shoulders apologetically._

"Angel!" Buffy woke with a start.

* * *

><p>"I'm not sure that a dream of someone staking Angel means that he is in trouble." Giles reasoned.<p>

"But Giles, I went by his apartment this morning after sun-up and he wasn't there." Buffy argued.

"There are other places he could spend the day." Jolinar observed. "But we shouldn't discount the dream. It may be a warning of some kind. The Tok'ra are aware of... other beings in the universe that sometimes choose to communicate through dreams."

"What kind of beings are you talking about?" Willow asked.

"Well, they call themselves the 'Ascended', but really they're just people who exist as energy." Jolinar informed them.

"Good lord! Is that even possible?" Giles was astounded.

"Apparently." Jolinar shrugged. "Conservation of energy. Converting matter to energy and back again. We're not sure how it works. But we do know they exist. You don't hear about them much. But accounts of glowing beings are usually them. Xander figures stories in the Bible of Angels were probably ascended beings."

* * *

><p>After school, he, Willow, and Ford headed to the closing. The buyers were happy that the deal didn't have to wait for financing and Xander was happy to save ten grand. Everyone was happy. Xander got the keys and handed one to Willow and two to Ford, to give one to Buffy when he saw her. He kept two spares. One for Giles and one to hide out around the house somewhere for that inevitable moment when he lost his keys.<p>

Jolinar didn't think it was worth the security risk. As a symbiote, he had a very good memory and could usually be counted on to remember things like that.

But Xander had insisted.

They decided that he and Willow would move in that weekend. Ford had fewer belongings and would be moving in that night.

Things were looking up.

* * *

><p>Angelus the vampire woke up face down in the sewers. Not a pleasant way of waking up for someone with an enhanced sense of smell. But better than not waking up at all. He had a fuzzy memory of a bright white light but nothing more. He wasn't sure what it meant. All he knew was that he was finally free of that accursed soul. He was breathing free air again for the first time in 100 years. Sure it stank, but being free of that tortured soul was worth in. Though, he had to give it to the man. Even if he was on the side of good, Liam always did have a taste for the veal. Sixteen? Ha! Angelus planned how he was going to torture that innocent little girl.<p>

He had to wait in the sewers all day and had to beat off a couple demons who thought he looked like an easy mark. But once the sun was down he went straight for Angel's apartment. The place really wasn't to his taste and he was going to be moving out soon enough. But first he needed to get out of these smelly clothes and into something clean.

A knock on his door interrupted him with his shirt off. Must be the Slayer. She trusted Angel, so she wasn't about to dust him. He decided to open the door.

"Angel! Oh my god! Where have you been?" Buffy rushed in and hugged him quickly. Too quickly for him to bite her.

"I got trapped in the sewer. Can't you smell? Or is your nose still broken after that scuffle with Xander?" Angelus sniped. It was all he could do to not attack her physically. Mentally was another matter.

"Angel? I was worried about you!" Buffy pleaded.

"Yeah, well, I'm fine. Thanks for noticing. But I want to get cleaned up now." he made a shooing motion. "It's been a long day."

Buffy went to leave but turned around just outside the door. "Angel, I-" she's cut off when the door slammed in her face.

Showered and changed Angelus made his way to the factory where he knew Spike and Drusilla had been hiding. He didn't really know what had stopped Angel from telling the kids about this place. As he entered, he spotted a minion vampire. Short, balding, and wearing glasses. He remembered Buffy's description of the vamp that had gotten away and smiled. "You're one of Spike's minions aren't you?"

"Angel." the vamp froze.

"Angelus now." he corrected. "That do-gooder is finally gone."

The vampire breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm Dalton. We were just moving some of Spike and Drusilla's stuff."

"Like what?" Angelus asked.

"Well there's some body parts in boxes. Not sure what they're for. And-" Dalton began.

"Show me." Angelus ordered.

Dalton took him to the boxes. Angelus smiled. Dru had really outdone herself this time. Well, if this was her last wish, then so be it.

* * *

><p>When Jenny Calendar got home from school that day, her uncle was already waiting for her.<p>

"You can apologize for what you said later." he began. "I have just received news. Angel's soul is gone."

"Then you can apologize for what you did, now." Jenny intoned.

"Me apologize, Janna?" Enyos was offended.

"No, Uncle. It's Jenny now. You should have told me about the curse. I just had a very unpleasant conversation with the man that I love, where I explained who I used to be and why I was sent here. And the man that used to love me back no longer does. He seems to think that I'm part of a... 'honey trap' to get close to him, his Slayer, and Angel." she shrugged. "Not that I can blame him. But if what you say is true, then I have to call him and let him know that we have to kill one of our friends because of your foolishness. Do you know who he's going to blame?"

"Janna!" he yelled.

"That's right! And what kind of curse was that anyway? I don't think I'm as good as the spellcasters we had back then, but even I could cast a spell that really would torture him for all eternity, with no escape clause."

"That's enough!" Enyos was turning red.

"You're right. It's time for you to go Enyos." Jenny used his first name. "This is our problem now. The gypsy curse is broken and you have no claim on him. You are no longer welcome here." Jenny crossed her arms and backed him to the door.

"This is not over." Enyos said before he left.

"We'll see." Jenny said to the closed door. Then she turned to call Giles and inform him of the bad news.

* * *

><p>Buffy collapsed on her bed crying. Angel had been acting so weird when she finally found him, but her relief at finding him made her not want to believe anything was wrong. And now Giles called to tell her that Angel had lost his soul.<p>

Why hadn't he attacked her then? Giles had explained that Angelus' M.O. had been to toy with his victims first. Buffy felt like her heart was being ripped out. She had loved Angel and now there was a monster out there wearing his face. She wondered if Xander had felt this before he staked Jesse.

Her mother came in to comfort her, but she couldn't tell her what was going on. It felt good just to be held while she cried. And she consoled herself that the next day was Saturday. The day they were planning on telling her everything. The thought filled her with both a sense of comfort and dread.

* * *

><p>Saturday arrived and Willow and Ford were at the school science lab setting up the lab equipment to test Ted's cooking. Meanwhile, Buffy's golf game was off. Though Xander was able to maintain his concentration. She was watching him for eye glow, as she suspected that Jo was doing the golfing. And she considered that cheating.<p>

Well, two could play at that game. She dropped her ball in the cup by hand and claimed a '2' for the hole.

"Beg to differ." Ted said from behind the windmill.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

But Ted was angry. "I think you're missing the point here, little lady. Right is right, wrong is wrong. Why don't people see that?"

"Maybe because it's just a game?" Buffy snarked.

"Right, it's just a game, do your own thing, well, I'm not wired that way. And I am here to tell you it is not a game! It _does_ count, and I don't stand for that kind of malarkey in my house!"

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not _in_ your house." Buffy smirks.

Ted wasn't amused. "Do you want me to slap that smart-ass mouth of yours?"

"I'd like to see you try." Buffy offered.

But Ted noticed that the others had joined them, "Who's up for dessert? I made chocolate-chip cookies!"

Joyce opened the zip-lock bag of cookies.

Xander smiled and reached for some. "Yeah."

"I had expected Willow, so I made too many, you guys are gonna have to take some home, then." Ted offered.

Buffy's stomach tightened as her mother took a cookie. They had decided that they wouldn't interfere until they had scientific proof that they were laced. And Xander had made the point that a sedative might be just the thing her mother needed when she learned about the Slayer.

"Mm! Buffy, you've got to try one of these! They're really good!" Joyce exclaimed.

Buffy felt her stomach tighten even more as her mom munched away. Until Xander gave the code phrase: "Mm! These are tasty!"

Then she gave Ted the nastiest smile she could manage. _Gotcha!_ she thought

* * *

><p>"Mom, could we stop by the school quick? I have to drop something off at the science lab."<p>

"Sure honey." her sedated mother agreed quickly.

Once in the science lab, Joyce wondered what was going on, seeing Willow and Ford there and perfectly healthy. Then she recognized Ford. "Billy Fordham? I haven't seen you in ages." she gave him a big hug.

While Ford and Joyce got caught up, Xander passed Willow the bag of cookies to begin her experiments on, though he snagged one to munch on too.

"Xander!" Buffy complained in a stage whisper. "Those are evidence."

"But I'm hungry and they don't affect me. Besides. I already touched this one so it's contaminated evidence. Best to just destroy it." he said and then shoved the whole cookie in his mouth.

Buffy stared at him open-mouthed as he chewed away at the cookie pleasantly.

"Xander leave some for the others this time." Joyce scolded pleasantly. Then she went back to catching up with Ford.

"Finished!" Willow exclaimed. "And apparently the secret ingredient is not love."

"What do you mean?" Joyce joined the group.

"What is it then?" Xander asked.

Willow frowned. "It looks like it's Dematorin. It's a type of tranquilizer, keeps you all mellow and compliant. It also shares a few components with Ecstasy."

"What does?" Joyce asked again.

"The sedative that Ted put in your food." Xander stated flatly.

"Oh. Is that bad?" Joyce wondered.

"Unless being drugged and controlled is your thing?" Xander received a shot in the ribs from Buffy for that. "Yes. It's bad."

"I should probably be angry. But I'm not." Mrs Summers observed.

"That's probably the drugs talking." Willow assured her then turned to Xander, "We should probably tell her the rest of the stuff now while she's nice and mellow." she advised.

"Will she remember?" Buffy asked.

"She'll remember most of it." Willow assured her friend. "And once she's had time to process everything, she should be more rational about everything once the drugs have worn off."

"Ok. Mom. I want you to listen to me very carefully. Ted is a bad man. He's been drugging you and he threatened me today. But that's not the most shocking news I have for you today." Buffy began.

* * *

><p>While Buffy explained the Slayer to a very understanding mother figure, Xander gave Ford his diplomatic ID.<p>

"I thought you said it wouldn't come till Monday?" Ford asked.

"They told me _by_ Monday. Courier arrived this morning." Xander clarified. "Congratulations, you are now an official attaché of the Tok'ra. Willow and I are going to move in after we're done here. You have some rooms picked out for us?"

"Yeah, but I hope you're bringing some furniture. The place is a little bare." Ford admitted.

"Oh my gosh, Ford. What did you sleep on?" Willow asked.

"I had a mattress and a blanket. No frame, but I can get that later. I was talking about the other stuff. There's no fridge, no kitchen table, we have a dryer but they took the washing machine. Oh, and they took that little outdoor fountain that you liked." Ford enumerated.

"The one with the birds? How could they? Do they know how hard it is to find a water fountain without frogs on it?" Willow complained.

"We'll deal Willow." Xander gave her a one-armed hug. "Although, we may have to leave early if Mrs S. doesn't start coming out of it soon."

Sure enough, Joyce started crying not long after that. Apparently all the news she had received while she was drugged was catching up with her.

Willow went to go comfort Buffy and Joyce while the boys stood there looking uncomfortable.

"You want to go grab some snacks?" Xander offered.

"Yes, please." Ford agreed and the males left the room.

Xander bought them some pop and a bag of chips. While they were eating, Giles and Miss Calendar came by.

"Ahh good. Xander. You passed along my message to Willow about Angel losing his soul, yes?" Giles asked.

"Yes. Everyone knows." Xander informed him.

"Wonderful. Have you seen Buffy? I expect that she might be emotionally distressed right now." Giles scratched his temple and looked at Jenny in such a way, it made Xander think that perhaps it might not have been Giles' idea to comfort his Slayer.

"She's in the Science Lab comforting her mother. She just told her everything." Xander told him.

"Dear lord. Everything?" Giles was shocked.

"I think she might have left out our suspicions that Ted is an NID agent, but everything else." Xander announced.

"Joyce is dating an NID agent?" Jenny slapped Giles' arm lightly, "Rupert, why didn't you tell me?"

"Well we're not sure yet." Ford jumped in. "But there's a good chance. Xander got 'NID agent' in the pool. Willow got 'human psychopath' and I got 'not human'. But they let me buy in for half when I got that category. No one thinks he's demonic. Just psycho."

"You're having a pool? What's the buy in?" Rupert asked. At another smack from Jenny he added. "I mean, that's very wrong, you shouldn't be betting. You're clearly underage." At another smack from Jenny he asked her, "What?"

"They shouldn't be betting on this stuff at all Rupert." Jenny hissed.

"Oh. Well Jenny. You see it's a way of letting off steam and injecting some levity in an otherwise dark situation. Plus it gives them something to look forward to." Giles explained. "As I understand, Xander and Willow have had pools going on how many vampires Buffy might slay in a given night almost since they found out." He waved his hand. "Anyway, I suppose we should go see if Buffy needs any backup." and they walked off in the direction of the science lab.

After they left Ford asked, "Is that true?"

"The pools? Sort of. We had them for a while, but Willow's too smart. She started getting eerily close to the correct number of vamps each night. For a couple weeks I made her pick one number and I got every other number. But she was still winning too often so we called it off. She claims she's not psychic. It's just pattern recognition and reading Buffy's moods. But I don't know."

Ford opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by an enraged yell from Joyce, "**You Knew?**"

Ford and Xander rushed to the science lab and found Giles sprawled in the doorway. "You know, that might be one of those reasons for maintaining secrecy." Ford remarked.

"The anger of a mother who just found out her little girl is a superhero destined to fight the forces of darkness. Good reason for secrecy. We'll put that down as number two." Xander quipped.

"Xander? You knew about this? And Billy?" Joyce deflated a little bit.

"Mom! Xander insisted on telling you." Buffy defended. "And Ford helped."

"I think you're an afterthought." Xander whispered.

"That's ok. They don't notice me then. I see more than people think this way." Ford whispered back.

Xander looked at Ford, who had just said in so many words the way he had felt while tagging along with Buffy. Ford just looked back and gave him a crooked smile.

"Willow, we should really get moving. Why don't we let the adults discuss this?" Xander said.

She finished helping Giles to a chair. "Ok." then waved to Buffy. "I'll see you later."

* * *

><p>They got to Willow's house just before the movers arrived. Willow didn't have much to move. Bed, some clothes, plenty of books, and her computer. The hardest thing to move was her fish. Her mother had just gotten them for her the last time she'd been home. But the movers were apparently experienced in moving fish. They went into a large, very sturdy, plastic bag and the tank itself was drained before being moved. Willow had to sign a release stating that she understood the fish might not survive and that she wasn't going to hold them responsible if they did not.<p>

Then on to Xander's house. They used the back stairs and didn't even have to go through the house. Xander only really had clothes and his bed. Though he was starting to collect a few books since Halloween. The hardest part was his hide-a-bed couch. The thing was super heavy and fairly unwieldy, but the burly moving guys seemed to have little trouble with it.

They stood looking at the back of the moving truck. All of his and Willow's possessions combined couldn't fill a moving van.

When they got to the embassy, as they were calling it, it was closing on sundown. They let the moving guys get the big stuff out while they moved the little things. They had no real plan for where stuff went so everything just kind of piled up in the entry way. After a tip, the movers were on their way. Hopefully home by the time the sun set.

Leaving Xander, Ford and Willow to sort out where they wanted everything to go. Step one was to look through all the rooms and decide which one they each wanted. Step two was to set out the 'unwelcome mat' as Xander called it. A mat with the phrase 'come back with a warrant' on it. Then they set to unpacking.

* * *

><p>Angelus smiled at his new minion. 'D' something or rather. He was extremely meek, almost to the point of being human. But the guy was both smart and efficient. Which were far rarer skills in a minion than bravery. He had a dozen brave vampires who would attack the Slayer on his order, but only the one who had a chance of defeating her.<p>

In fact, he was very close to defeating her. On Drusilla's orders he had been collecting 'body parts' as he called them. They were, in fact, pieces of The Judge. An unstoppable demon that Dru and now Angelus planned on unleashing upon the world once more.

They were only missing an arm and a leg. And those were both on their way. Angelus was impatient. He wanted to punish the Slayer now. But he refrained from taking his wrath out on the minion. Too hard to replace that one. So he went out to feed. Better to take his frustrations out on some human. Plus it had been so long since he had a kill.

He stepped outside and made his way towards the Bronze. There were always stupid kids walking home alone after dark around there. Plus it increased his chances of seeing Buffy.

Finally a boy came out alone. Boys were always more likely to travel alone at night than girls. Angelus wondered if that was the reason there seemed to be so many more male vampires than female vampires in Sunnydale. Shaking off the thoughts, he snuck up behind the boy and attacked.

Or tried to attack. Before he reached the kid's neck a horrible pain flashed through his head. Like being smacked in the head with a bowling ball. He reeled backwards and thrashed on the ground until the pain started to subside.

"Are you ok, man?" the kid asked.

"Fine." Angelus stood up and showed him his game face. "Pain's gone now." And he attacked again. And got hit with pain again. It was excruciating. And the second time was the charm. The boy finally did the smart thing and ran away.

As the pain faded, Angelus stopped screaming in pain and instead screamed in frustration. _What the hell was going on?_ He decided to head back to the factory and have Brainy Vamp research it for him.


	26. Chapter 30

Chapter 30.

I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate SG1.

/ Xander's thoughts /

% Jolinar's thoughts %

#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#

* * *

><p>Angelus had Dalton, his brainy vamp, researching for something that would cause him to feel pain when he tried to kill a human. At Dalton's suggestion, he even had a minion bring in a human to test different amounts of hostility on the meat. No pain just trying to scare it, but intense pain for just trying to hurt it. Interestingly, ordering the other vamp to hurt it, only tingled a bit. And dusting the vamp for suggesting that he was weak hadn't hurt in the least. He ended up having Dalton drain the meat's blood into a clean bucket for him to drink.<p>

The taste of his first human blood in... he didn't know how long, was amazing. Like that first breath of air for a drowning man or that first drink of water in a desert. He drained most of the bucket but let Dalton finish it off.

"Those damn kids did this to me. I just know it. It was probably Xander." Angelus griped.

"Not the Slayer?" Dalton looked up from his bucket.

"Dalton, you've got a little..." he motioned to his chin in mirror of where Dalton had blood running down his own. Dalton wiped his mouth then Angelus continued. "No, she's not the ring leader anymore. Xander is the real power in that group." Angelus wasn't sure why he wasn't telling the minion about Xander being an alien. He supposed it might make him sound crazy.

"And I can't fight them like this." he looked at his hands. "We'll have to finish the Judge. If we can get him finished without them knowing, we should be able to take them by surprise."

* * *

><p>"Angelus is back and reassembling the Judge? That rascally scamp." The Mayor tisked. "Normally I'd applaud his initiative, but not right now. We just can't let this happen at present. Make sure the Slayer finds out. Warn her yourself if you have to. But nothing is going to stand in the way of my Ascension. And there just isn't enough room for two unstoppable demons in this town."<p>

* * *

><p>Buffy had too much on her mind (and an angry mother right next to her) to even think about patrolling tonight. She radioed Giles to tell him that she wouldn't be patrolling. The call was really for the NID so they would take over patrolling for the night.<p>

"We just saw him less than an hour ago. Didn't you tell him that at school?" her mother complained.

"That wasn't for him. That was for the NID." Buffy explained.

"_Right_... the secret government organization that is doing, what exactly?" Joyce questioned.

"Well, we're not sure yet, but Xander-"

"Xander the alien?" Joyce confirmed.

"Right. Well, sort of half-alien?" Buffy seemed unsure.

"Fine. And you've been dating a boy behind my back." Joyce seemed most upset about this part. "And not only is he 200 years older than you, but he's also a reformed mass-murderer who may no longer be as reformed as you thought. And he has an open invitation to our home, which is why we have to go stay with Xander, Ford and Willow? Did I forget anything?"

"That Ted has been drugging you?" Buffy offered.

Joyce's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. "I didn't forget about that." Indeed. The kids had let her have a small bite of a cookie as proof that they were right. How much better she felt after that was the only reason she was able to drive right now. It also happened to be proof that they were right. At least about the cookies. She didn't want to think about Ted or everything else that they were claiming. Vampires and demons and aliens. Oh my.

* * *

><p>Sunday morning was interesting. With five people suddenly living together, and some of them not happy about that fact; it was a recipe for, well not disaster but certainly frayed nerves. Plus Xander discovered a few things he hadn't thought of when searching for the house. Firstly, it may have been huge but it had only one bathroom. And secondly, that three women and only one bathroom were not a good mix. Especially when two of those women were in a bad mood already. Xander made a mental note to get some contractors in here to give them more bathrooms.<p>

Luckily neither woman was inclined to do much yelling. Mostly keeping their ire focused in deadly glares. Buffy glared at Xander whenever they were in the same room. Apparently it was his fault that her mom was angry at her. Joyce's glares were spread around, even if they were strongest on Buffy. Apparently she felt that Buffy's friends should have come forward sooner. Of course, once she noticed Buffy glaring at Xander, she decided to become very friendly towards him. Cooking him, and only him, pancakes. Refilling his juice when it got low and insisting that he call her 'Joyce'. Frankly it was getting uncomfortable and Xander decided it was time to get out of there. He headed down to the basement to get the healing device reinstalled.

The antiquated electrical circuits here were barely adequate to run the healing device. And it would mean shutting down power to the rest of the house while they did so. It also meant that Xander kept three fire extinguishers nearby.

Only once Joyce left to go work at her Gallery did Xander venture back up. And was promptly met by the glares of two girls. "Ok, I know why Buffy's mad at me. But what did I do to make _you_ upset?" he asked Willow.

"She was cooking for you and you didn't tell her to stop." Willow complained.

"What? Mrs Summer? Will. What were you watching? She was nice to me because Buffy was mad at me. That's it." Xander explained.

"And you didn't do anything to stop her." Buffy stabbed him in the chest with her finger.

"Oww." Xander complained. "Ok, that's it. You guys can be mad at me when I've done something wrong, but I haven't done anything wrong here. So, I will see you at the library. Come on, Ford." But Ford was staying out of it and had mysteriously disappeared. Xander sighed and walked out the front door alone.

* * *

><p>Rupert Giles was just as flummoxed by Jenny's actions as Xander was by his girls'. She completely misrepresented herself and lied about her reasons for coming to Sunnydale. And in light of the news about Ted, he knew it might be possible that she had been planted in his life to gain access to his Slayer and Angel. A point which she denied, naturally.<p>

After last night's "coming out" party where Buffy revealed her true identity to her mother, Giles found himself on the floor from a straight right from Joyce. It didn't escape his notice that Jenny was immediately by his side then. Or how tenderly she had tended his wounds before he had remembered her betrayal and brushed her off. And the hurt look she wore when he did so.

All in all, Rupert confessed himself to be very confused. On the one hand, she had come forward with the information that she was sent here on her own, and had also volunteered information about Angel losing his soul, which had given them a solid meaning to Angel's sudden personality shift and Buffy's dream. On the other hand, he wasn't sure he could believe her that their relationship, such as it was, was completely unplanned. He didn't know if he could forgive that betrayal.

* * *

><p>Xander didn't head straight for school when he left the house. Instead he made for the nearest public pay phone. He dialed the direct number for General Hammond.<p>

There was no answer. His call went to voicemail.

Duh. It was Sunday. He was probably home with his family. Xander hung up without leaving a message. He didn't want to call the General at home. Not just because he didn't want to disturb him, but if the NID was bugging their phones, he wouldn't put it past them to bug the general's too.

He started walking to the Library. On the way, he met up with Ford. "Hey buddy, thanks for abandoning me to the wolves back there." he said sarcastically.

"Any time." Ford grinned back. "There was no way I was getting involved in that one. And didn't you leave, like 5 minutes ago? I waited until after the girls had left. You should be almost to the school by now."

"Had a quick errand to run." Xander evaded. He wasn't going to be forthcoming to the guy who just let him twist in the wind like that.

They arrived at the school a little later and found everyone in the library. "Alright, time for a field trip." Xander announced and everyone followed him out to the back of the school where he ringed them up to the spaceship still in orbit there.

Once they were aboard, Buffy and Willow grabbed a crate. Ford and Giles grabbed the other. Leaving Xander and Jenny standing.

"Ok, a lot's been happening recently and I wanted to make sure we were all on the same page with everything and that we all know what everyone is doing and what our priorities are for the upcoming week." Xander began. "Does anyone have any questions before I begin?"

Buffy's hand shot up and Xander called on her. "If you don't stop making googly eyes at my mom, I'm going to pull your arms out of their sockets." Buffy said with mock cheerfulness.

"Googly eyes?" sounded funny when said with Giles' British accent.

"There were no eyes, googly or otherwise. Mrs. S was nice to me, I was nice to her. End of story. Except that Buffy and Willow are somehow mad about it." Xander shook his head.

"And this is why it's a bad idea to tell the parents." Giles rubbed his temples then readjusted his glasses. "Girls, if you would please understand that Xander had nothing to do with Joyce's actions, then we could be moving on?"

"Ok. First up, Willow and I are proud to announce that we have the first four communication devices, or S-Radios as we're calling them, done. We should have the other two done soon. Which means several things. Tonight, it means that we get to mess with those NID teams that are wandering around our town. Once we've had our fun, we can give them our ultimatum to remove their bugs or else." Xander stated.

Buffy raised her hand again. "Why do we have to give them the ultimatum? Why not just find the bugs ourselves and squash them?"

"Because the NID aren't demons that you just squish, Buff." Xander answered. "We'll find out a lot more about them if we demand they remove their bugs first. Like whether they respect us or not. If they don't view us as a threat, they probably won't bother to remove the bugs. Or not all the bugs anyway. If they're willing to follow our demands, that's a good sign. It means we might be able to force them out of Sunnydale peacefully."

"Smacking them around a bit might give them the right idea." Buffy interrupted.

"Or it might get them to ignore your diplomatic immunity and call in an airstrike." Xander countered. "And first we need to see if we can push these guys at all before it comes down to a real fight. Because we don't have the weapons or, more importantly, the manpower to take these guys on." Xander took a breath. "Which leads me to our next point. The NID itself. We were able to hack into the NID database and download some stuff. Giles, were you able to sift through all that paperwork we gave you?"

Giles stood up. It was then that everyone noticed that he had a duffel bag with him. "Yes, I was able to sort the myriad papers you gave me into some semblance of order. There were three groups of reports. The largest group you gave me referenced the SCG and seemed to be action reports on various missions to other planets. The next were the HST reports. Which seemed very similar but were by and about the HST teams the NID is employing around Sunnydale. I read a couple of them and one clearly stated that the team narrowly avoided running into 'The Slayer' when the radio team reported her location."

Giles shared a glance with Xander. "So it's certainly good that we are switching to the... S-Radios. The third group of reports were medical in nature." Giles paused. "I didn't understand all the medical jargon but after reading just a few I can say with certainty that they are experimenting on demons and vampires. Or HSTs as they call them."

"HST?" Willow asked.

"Hostile Sub Terrestrial." Giles clarified.

"That's not good." Xander and Jenny breathed at the same time.

"What's so bad about it? It's just demons." Buffy argued.

Xander opened his mouth to answer but Jenny beat him to the punch. "It's exactly like what the gypsies did with Angelus. They should have killed a monster like that but instead they toyed with him. And now he's out there, killing again."

"Not to mention what they might do to a guy like Oz." Xander added. "Who's only dangerous one night a month and is willing to lock himself up that night."

"Three." Giles interjected. At Xander's confused look he added, "The full transformation happens three nights a month. The actual night of the full moon as well as the preceding and subsequent nights."

"Good job with the research." Buffy praised.

"If by 'research' you mean I asked the young man then thank you." Giles smirked a little.

"Right. So, to sum up. NID bad. Which brings me to my next point. The new student teacher/NID agents. Actually, I was just thinking we should demand their removal with the other bugs. Any objections?"

Xander looked around. No one raised a hand, but Buffy pouted a little over the loss of her 'hotties'.

"Ok, and the other possible NID agent, Ted. We should really confirm if he is an agent or not first. Giles did you find anything in your reports about a 'Ted'?" Xander asked.

"Not that I recall, but I haven't read everything yet," the watcher answered.

"Ok, so my plan for dealing with Ted is to zat him and interrogate him before we confront the NID." Xander stated.

"We want to know for sure if he's an NID agent or not. If not, we don't want to look stupid by assuming he is. And if he is, then that's a nice little bargaining chip we can use." Jolinar stated.

"Does anyone have a better idea?" Giles asked. When no ideas were forthcoming, he asked, "Tonight at the embassy?"

"Best idea probably." Xander confirmed. "And that leads into the next topic. Mrs. Summers."

"What about my mom?" Buffy wondered.

"First, do you want her there for the interrogation?" Xander asked.

"No. But I don't think we'll be able to keep her out now." Buffy said, resigned.

Jolinar sighed. "Well then we should just be ready to restrain her. Finding out someone betrayed you can make a person rather irrational."

"Then on the Embassy itself. I've got contractors coming this weekend to do a lot of work. We'll have to watch them closely and do a bug sweep once they're gone. I've got three teams coming over. Plumbers to add two new bathrooms, one upstairs and one in the basement. Electricians to update the wiring to heavy grade, industrial wiring. And some carpenters to finish it all off. If everyone could be present both days to help and to watch the contractors, that would be a great help. Otherwise, we might have to dig bugs out of our brand-new walls." Xander informed them.

"Right. So next, we have reason to believe that Angel has lost his soul and become Angelus." Xander continued. "We don't know why and we haven't actually seen him attack anyone yet. But the information from the gypsies, Buffy's dream, and the sudden personality shift certainly fit. First question, can he be re-souled? And secondly, do we want to do that to him?"

Jenny shook her head. "The curse that ensouled him the first time has been lost to my clan. I don't think it's possible, but I can check."

"People could die while you're checking. How long until you'd know for sure?" Jolinar asked.

"A week, maybe more."

Xander shook his head. "That's a long time. So, maybe we should answer the second question first. Do we want to curse the soul of Liam O'Connell back into his corpse so it can be tortured for the rest of eternity? Or do we let him rest in peace?"

"Who?" Buffy wondered.

"Angel. Liam is his name." Jolinar offered.

"Oh, then of course we're going to re-soul him. It's Angel." Buffy complained.

Everyone else looked unsure. Giles spoke up first. "It's not that simple, Buffy. This is a curse, meant to torture him." Giles cast a glare at Jenny. "And who is to say it's our right to curse him again? I certainly wouldn't want you to curse my soul back into my corpse."

"Seconded." Xander said quickly.

#"And that goes double for me."# Jolinar switched to his deep voice to tell everyone that they both didn't want to be brought back.

"Having finally accepted my death, I can say that you can just dust me if I'm ever turned." Ford stated.

Willow looked less sure than the others. "I guess I'd rather not be a vampire. If I'm all fangy and bitey, you can just dust me too."

Everyone looked at Miss Calendar, "Dust in the wind." she smiled at Rupert.

Buffy's shoulders slouched as she admitted defeat. "I guess we kill him then."

"No. We won't make you do that. Colonel O'Neill had to fight one of his best friends when that friend became infected by a Goa'uld. So we know first hand how difficult it can be to try to kill someone wearing a friend's face. Those of us who didn't know him as well or didn't like him as much will deal with him." Jolinar stated.

Buffy gave a small smile. "Great." She wouldn't have to kill him. She'd just have to sit by while her friends did it. She didn't think it was going to be any easier this way.

"We'll have a couple of days while we deal with the NID before we focus on finding Angelus." Xander continued.

"I thought Angel was the top priority?" Buffy queried.

"He's the most dangerous right now. Which is why we have to deal with the NID first. I don't want to imagine what might happen if Angelus were to fall into the NID's hands. With everything he knows? So, Angelus is more dangerous right now, but the NID is more urgent. Because they could become far more dangerous than one vampire." Xander explained.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. A couple of days before we focus on finding Angelus. Willow and I should have the last two S-Radios done by then and then we'll start on weapons. We already know the staff weapons work well on vamps and the P90s... well are better than nothing. Our plan is to miniaturize the staff weapons to fire from the P90 platform. This should give us a 1-2 punch that should kill or at least damage 99 percent of all demons that we regularly face." Xander continued.

"Miss Summers, have you been able to try the P90 on other demons?" Jolinar asked.

Buffy looked up from her self-pitying. "Yeah. None of them liked it. Killed about half outright and the other half just got mad. Worked even better than insulting their mama."

"You've been insulting their mamas?" Willow looked a little shocked.

Buffy was taken aback for a moment. "No, Will, just normal insults."

"Oh."

Xander chuckled at Willow's innocence. Kill them, but don't insult their mothers. "Alright. We're pretty much done. So, plan for tonight is to meet at the embassy at 6, when Mrs. Summers gets off work. She'll be bringing Ted over for his interrogation. We question him then tonight we have fun with the NID and give them an ultimatum on the bugs. Everyone whose house is bugged should stay at the embassy tonight to give them a chance to retrieve their bugs quickly. Monday, I'll call the SGC for a bug sweeping team or the equipment to do it ourselves. After that's done, we start tracking down Angelus. Any comments or questions?" When none were forthcoming, Xander finished. "Ok, the last thing I have to talk about is homework."

Willow looked excited. Buffy looked angry. Xander tried very hard not to smile. "All the reports that Giles brought ... read them." He looked at Willow. "The SGC reports will be especially valuable if you ever hope to work for the SGC in the future." Willow looked even more excited than before as Xander continued. "We'll divide them up so everyone gets some."

Everyone got a tenth of the total pile except for Willow who claimed half the reports for herself including most of the SGC ones. They let her knowing she would be done with her much larger pile before most of them would be done with theirs. Then Xander ringed Giles and Jenny back down to the school. He flew the ship over their embassy and ringed everyone else down to the back door.

Buffy went to take a nap while Xander and Willow worked on the S-Radios with Ford watching.


End file.
